Judge Rice rejects Internet Porn Law

On Tuesday, Federal judge Walter Rice rejected a state law that restricts the dissemination of sexually oriented material over the Internet.

The law prohibits people from sending communications that are harmful to minors over the Internet if the sender knows or should know that the recipient is a minor.

In his decision, Rice said the law violates the First Amendment because it was too broadly written and could have ensnared adults having sexually frank discussions with other adults in chat rooms. In those cases, there is no way to ensure that minors are not part of the conversation, Rice said.

The judge also said the law violated the First Amendment by failing to target only people who intended to disseminate sexually oriented material to children with the intent to lure them into sexual activity.

Rice's ruling came in a lawsuit filed in 2002 by organizations representing booksellers, book publishers, music and video retailers and newspapers.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann said that the state is reviewing the decision and considering its options.

For more on this issue from Media Coalition, the group that organized the lawsuit, click here.