Minnesota House File 1606 is a bill of the 94th Legislature (2025–2026) proposing coding for new law in chapter 325E of the Minnesota Statutes, at § 325E.91, prohibiting nudification technology. This page summarizes the second engrossment, dated April 7, 2026 and posted to the Revisor's bill page on May 8, 2026 (Source: revisor.mn.gov). The topic page, which carries the enactment history and the litigation the statute has drawn, is Minnesota HF 1606 (Nudification Technology Prohibition).
The bill's own statement of purpose is brief: "A bill for an act relating to commerce; prohibiting access to nudification technology; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 325E." The placement in the commerce chapter rather than the criminal code determines the enforcement architecture that follows.
Definitions (subd. 1)
Identifiable individual — a person identifiable "from the image itself, by the person depicted in the image, or by another person," or "from personal information displayed in connection with the image." The second limb reaches images that are not themselves recognizable but are captioned or contextualized so as to identify the subject.
Intimate part — takes the meaning given in Minn. Stat. § 609.341, subd. 5, the definition used in the state's criminal sexual conduct chapter.
Nudify or nudified — a process by which an image or video "is altered or generated to depict an intimate part not depicted in an original unaltered image or video of an identifiable individual," where the result "is so realistic that a reasonable person would believe that the intimate part belongs to the identifiable individual." Both limbs are required: alteration or generation, and photorealism sufficient to deceive a reasonable person.
Technical skill — "substantial application of individualized technological or artistic skill and judgment by a human creator in directing, shaping, or controlling the output."
Prohibition (subd. 2)
A person who owns or controls a website, application, software, program, or other service must not allow a user to access, download, or use it to nudify an image or video, and must not nudify an image or video on behalf of a user. Separately, "no person may advertise or promote any website, application, software, program, or other service that performs the actions described in paragraph (a)."
Liability attaches to the operator of the tool rather than to the person who creates or publishes the resulting image, and the advertising prohibition reaches persons other than the operator.
Exemption (subd. 3)
The prohibitions "do not apply when the website, application, software, program, or other service requires the technical skill of a user to nudify an image or video." The technical-skill definition in subdivision 1 therefore functions as the carve-out for general-purpose creative tools, operating through the exemption rather than through the prohibition.
Remedies (subds. 4–6)
Civil action. An individual depicted in an image or video nudified in violation of the section may sue in district court for compensatory damages including mental anguish or suffering, "in an amount up to three times the actual damages sustained"; punitive damages; injunctive relief; reasonable attorney fees, costs, and disbursements; and other relief the court deems just and equitable.
Attorney general enforcement. The attorney general may enforce the section under Minn. Stat. § 8.31. A violator is subject to a civil penalty "not to exceed $500,000 for each unlawful access, download, or use under subdivision 2" — a per-instance rather than per-violator cap.
Disposition of penalties. Notwithstanding any contrary provision including § 16A.151, recovered penalties are deposited in the general fund; on July 1 each year the prior year's accumulated balance is appropriated to the commissioner of public safety for the Office of Justice Programs, to grant to organizations providing direct services and advocacy for victims of sexual assault, general crime, domestic violence, and child abuse. The statute enumerates permitted uses — direct client assistance, competitive wages for direct service staff, hotel stays and other housing-related supports, culturally responsive programming, prevention programming including domestic abuse transformation and restorative justice, and other organizational and survivor needs — requires that funded services reach "underserved communities most impacted by violence" and reflect the state's diversity, and caps grant administration at five percent of the appropriation.
Jurisdiction and venue. A court has jurisdiction where either the plaintiff or the defendant resides in Minnesota; an action may be filed in the county where the plaintiff resides.
Section 230 construction clause (subd. 7)
"This section does not alter or amend the liabilities and protections granted by United States Code, title 47, section 230, and shall be construed in a manner consistent with federal law." The clause is a drafting response to the preemption problem described at Section 230 (47 U.S.C. § 230); it does not attempt to displace the federal immunity but directs courts to construe the state prohibition consistently with it.
Effective date
"This section is effective August 1, 2026, and applies to causes of action accruing on or after that date."
Provenance
Retrieved on August 20, 2026 from the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, the legislature's own publication system, at the second-engrossment version URL. The Revisor's version list independently records introduction on February 25, 2025, first engrossment March 16, 2026, and second engrossment April 7, 2026. Contemporaneous coverage of xAI v. Ellison by CBS News Minnesota and MPR News, both dated July 28, 2026, cites HF 1606 as the statute at issue and links the same Revisor page.
Relationships
- related: Minnesota HF 1606 (Nudification Technology Prohibition) — the topic page this text underlies, carrying the enactment history and litigation.
- related: Algorithmic Speech Doctrine, xAI LLC v. Weiser (challenging the Colorado AI Act) — the First Amendment line the statute has been challenged under; xAI's July 2026 suit against the Minnesota attorney general is covered on the topic page.
- related: Section 230 (47 U.S.C. § 230) — the federal immunity the construction clause addresses.
- related: Synthetic Media / Deepfakes, State Deepfake Statutes (MN, WA, TX, CA), TAKE IT DOWN Act.