The Supreme Court has upheld criminal penalties for promoting child pornography.

Supporters of an anti-child-porn law that was upheld by the Supreme Court Monday say the ruling shows the importance of trying to cut down on that type of material on the Internet. But opponents of the law are still concerned that it could be used to punish people for innocent activity.

The court ruled in a 7-2 decision that leading someone to believe that you have child pornography to show or exchange is a federal crime. In doing so, the justices brushed aside concerns that it could apply to mainstream movies, classic literature or even innocent e-mails.

The ruling upholds part of a 2003 law that also prohibits possession of child porn. It replaced an earlier law against child pornography that the court struck down as unconstitutional.

In his majority opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia said the law wouldn't apply to "the sorts of sex scenes found in R-rated movies." And he said there are no First Amendment protections for offers to provide child porn.