The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that a law aimed at curbing children's access to online pornography is too broad and probably impedes upon the rights of adults to see and buy what they want on the internet.

The high court divided 5-to-4 over the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), a law passed in 1998, signed by then-President Clinton, and now backed by the Bush administration. The majority said a lower court was correct to block the law--which would have made it a crime for commercial operations to knowingly place objectionable material within the reach of children on the web--from taking effect, because it likely violates the First Amendment.

The court did not end the long fight over the law, however. The majority sent the case back to a lower court for a trial that could give the government a chance to prove the law does not go too far.

In a press conference with reporters, Jerry Berman, president of the Center for Democracy and Technology and a leading voice of opposition to the law, called the decision a "clear victory for internet free speech."

Looking at what he called "the global nature of the internet," Berman said, the court provided the government with a "hard burden" in proving that COPA would not restrict the rights of parents to decide what materials their children should have access to online.

Elliot Mincberg, general counsel for the People for the American Way, which also opposed the law, agreed, saying the court recognizes that parents should be allowed to make those decisions for their children--not "Big Brother government."

But some educators might not agree with the decision. As it stands, the ruling could make school leaders' jobs a little harder in keeping children from accessing pornography online.

The majority of the Court, led by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, said there have been important technological advances in the five years since a federal judge first blocked the law.

Holding a new trial also will allow discussion of what technology, if any, might allow adults to see and buy material that is legal for them while keeping that material out of the hands of children.

Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Clarence Thomas, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg agreed with Kennedy.

In his argument to the Court, U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson called COPA a reasonable solution to the proliferation of online pornography and said the law targeted commercial pornographers who often use sexually explicit "teasers" to lure customers. (See article: Supreme Court to revisit COPA.)

The free teasers are available to nearly anyone surfing the internet, children and adults alike. The pictures sometimes appear even when computer users are not seeking out pornography. The teasers typically lead potential customers to a web site that may require payment and age verification. But the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other critics of the anti-pornography law said that COPA would restrict far too much material that adults may legally see and buy.