Anti porn law over ruled

A law passed in 1998 making it criminal for minors to access "harmful" material has been struck down by a US judge on the basis of its vagueness and its potential threat to First Amendment free speech rights.

Upholding the complaint of a number of parties including some sexual health sites, Senior US District Judge Lowell Reed Jr said that client side software solutions were sufficient to protect children and that any such sites did not have to put in place steps such as credit care verification before allowing access to content.

Reed wrote in his ruling:

"Perhaps we do the minors of this country harm if First Amendment protections, which they will with age inherit fully, are chipped away in the name of their protection."