NEW YORK (AP) — Citing the First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled that a Vermont law cannot stop a nonprofit organization and the American Civil Liberties Union from publishing information about sexuality on the Internet.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found Wednesday that a law signed in 2000 by Vermont Gov. Howard Dean to curb Internet crimes against children was too broadly applied, threatening speech that is protected by the Constitution.
Lawyers for Vermont had argued that the state never intended to go after the kind of Web sites operated by the plaintiffs.