NEW YORK — Citing the First Amendment, a federal appeals court has ruled that a Vermont law cannot stop a nonprofit organization and the American Civil Liberties Union from publishing information about sexuality on the Internet.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a ruling on Aug. 27 that a law signed in 2000 by Vermont Gov. Howard Dean to curtail Internet crimes against children was too broadly applied, threatening speech that is protected by the Constitution.

Lawyers for Vermont had argued throughout the litigation that it never intended to go after the kind of Web sites operated by the plaintiffs.

"We think it likely that the Internet will soon be seen as falling within the class of subjects that are protected from state regulation because they imperatively demand a single uniform rule," the appeals court wrote.

The ruling benefits the ACLU and the Sexual Health Network Inc., a Connecticut-based nonprofit corporation that provides sexuality-related information for people with disabilities, illnesses and changes in their lifestyle.

The ACLU Web site contains materials on subjects such as birth control, safe sex practices, gay and lesbian rights, abortion and sex education.

Both organizations sought a court order to protect themselves from the effects of the new law.

Earlier, a federal judge had struck down the law, saying it violated the First Amendment because it burdened adult speech and was too broadly applied, projecting itself onto the rest of the nation.

The appeals court agreed that the law was unconstitutional when it was used against Web sites such as those operated by the ACLU and the Sexual Health Network.

It differed with the lower court, however, in saying that the law could be enforced otherwise.

Vermont Assistant Attorney General Joseph Leon Winn said the state was looking at the decision and deciding whether to appeal.