Swiss Federal Court rules AI-altered adult porn depicting minors is illegal child pornography
Switzerland's Federal Court upheld a conviction against a man who digitally altered adult pornography to depict a minor and shared it on Instagram. The court ruled that AI-altered depictions of adults as minors fall under laws prohibiting non-actual child sexual abuse material, citing risks to enforcement of real child protection laws and potential market effects.
What happened
A man shared a pornographic video on Instagram that appeared to depict a prepubescent girl engaged in sexual activity with an adult man. The video was actually of an adult performer whose image had been digitally altered using age-reduction technology to appear as a minor.
The Zurich District Court convicted the man in 2023 of producing and distributing hard pornography and other offences. The Zurich Appellate Court upheld the conviction. The man appealed to the Swiss Federal Court, which rejected his appeal on 29 December 2025.
Reported impact
The Federal Court stated it feared that if AI-altered material depicting adults as minors remained unpunished, it could corrupt the enforcement of laws against actual child sexual abuse material and create market demand that stimulates the real material market.
Index analysis
Article 197 of the Swiss Criminal Code has prohibited both actual and non-actual child sexual abuse material since 2014. The Federal Court found this was the first precedent-setting case involving digital age-alteration technology, as it was previously unclear whether virtual depictions like cartoons would be prosecutable.
The court reasoned that AI-altered depictions of real people appearing as minors pose greater risks than drawings because they present realistic images of actual individuals, increasing the potential to corrupt enforcement of laws against genuine child sexual abuse material and to stimulate real-world markets.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.