A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that a 2008 Indiana law forbidding registered sex offenders from using instant-messaging and social-networking sites like Facebook is an unconstitutional infringement of First Amendment-protected speech.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the legislation "broadly prohibits substantial protected speech rather than specifically targeting the evil of improper communications to minors." (.pdf)

The case, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of unnamed sex offenders, follows court rulings against similar laws in Nebraska and Louisiana.

The ACLU contended that, even though sex offenders can be regulated on where they live and work, the Indiana measure went too far.

"Indiana already has a law on the books that prohibits inappropriate sexual contacts with children," including penalties for online activities, ACLU legal director Ken Falk said. "This law sought to criminalize completely innocent conduct that has nothing to do with children."