A federal appeals panel in Philadelphia has ruled that the law barring "indecent" material on the Internet violates the First Amendment guarantee of free speech.
The panel granted a preliminary injunction against the Communications Decency Act while two lawsuits wind through the court system.
The government has promised to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"Just as the strength of the Internet is chaos, so the strength of our liberty depends upon the chaos and cacophony of the unfettered speech the First Amendment protects," the judges wrote.
The Communications Decency Act was enacted act in February as part of the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996. The bill
made displaying "indecent" or "patently offensive" words or images on the Internet punishable by $250,000 fines and a two-year prison sentence if they are accessible to minors.
