RICHMOND -- A privacy advocate who posted Social Security numbers on a Web site to show that the government had failed to protect individuals' privacy will not be charged under a new Virginia law, state officials said Monday.

The Attorney General's Office agreed not to charge Betty "B.J." Ostergren under the new law set to take effect today. Ostergren's brash tactics prompted the legislation, and she in turn filed a lawsuit challenging the statute, saying it violates the First Amendment.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Payne refused to block the law Monday after the Attorney General's Office agreed not to prosecute Ostergren while her lawsuit is pending. The judge questioned lawyers for Ostergren and the state during a three-hour hearing, then asked for additional briefs and scheduled a trial for July 24.

Ostergren posted on her Web site, TheVirginiaWatchdog.com, public records obtained from government Web sites that included the Social Security numbers of prominent people. The Hanover County resident's lawyer, Rebecca Glenberg of the American Civil Liberties Union, told Payne that the government cannot make information publicly available and then punish citizens for distributing it.

At times, Payne seemed to agree, pointing to U.S. Supreme Court rulings that appear to support Ostergren's argument. James Ingold of the Attorney General's Office suggested Payne could break new ground with his ruling in this case.

"We will admit this is in the frontier of Internet law," Ingold said. "We're in a new domain here, and it requires a different analysis."

Further complicating the case is another new law taking effect today that requires court clerks to post all property records online. Some of those records will contain Social Security numbers.

"The state is doing something that is extremely troublesome to her, to me, and should be to every citizen," Payne said.

The judge also demanded to know what purpose was served by Ostergren's distribution of Social Security numbers. "All she does is exacerbate the very problem she says she's committed to stopping," he said.

He asked why Ostergren couldn't just make her point by explaining the problem on her Web site. Glenberg said posting the documents has "shock value" that brings more attention to Ostergren's cause.

Ostergren focuses on posting the Social Security numbers of public officials, including court clerks and lawmakers.

"What she's doing is teaching them a lesson," Payne said. "It's a prod, isn't it, to get them to come to their senses?"