A Swiss court has ruled that pornographic material featuring adults digitally altered to appear underage is illegal, marking a significant legal stance on the use of emerging technology in adult content.

In a decision published this week, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a man found guilty by Zurich courts of distributing illegal pornography. The case centered on a video shared on Instagram that appeared to depict a prepubescent girl. Investigators later determined the individual in the video was an adult actress whose appearance had been digitally rejuvenated using software to make her look underage.

The defendant had previously received a suspended fine and a monetary penalty for offenses including pornography violations, depictions of crude violence, and breaches of Switzerland’s Narcotics Act. He appealed the pornography conviction, arguing that no actual minor had been involved in the production of the material.

The Lausanne-based court rejected that argument, reaffirming that Swiss criminal law, revised in 2014, criminalizes not only real child sexual abuse material but also so-called non-real child sexual abuse material. This category includes content created entirely through virtual or digital means.

Until now, the Federal Supreme Court had not explicitly ruled on whether pornographic material created by digitally rejuvenating adult actors fell under that definition. In its judgment, the court concluded that such content is punishable under existing law.

The ruling noted that lawmakers, during debates leading up to the 2014 revision of the Criminal Code, had raised concerns about the difficulty of proving whether a depiction involved a real child. Legislators warned that allowing non-real child sexual abuse material to go unpunished could complicate the prosecution of actual child abuse cases.

According to the court, determining performers’ ages becomes especially challenging in cases involving partial digital manipulation. Judges said this difficulty can be even greater than in cases involving animated or cartoon depictions of sexual acts involving children, which are already banned in Switzerland.

As a result, the court held that pornographic content showing adults digitally altered to resemble minors should be treated the same as content generated entirely by a computer. The publication and distribution of such material, the ruling states, constitutes illegal child pornography.

Legal experts say the decision clarifies how Swiss law applies to AI-assisted and digital image manipulation, confirming that technological alteration does not shield offenders from criminal liability. The court emphasized the broader societal harm posed by such content and the need for legal protections to keep pace with advances in digital technology.

The ruling is expected to influence future prosecutions involving AI-manipulated sexual imagery and sets a precedent for how Swedish courts may address similar cases involving digitally altered content.