A federal appeals court in New York says the CIA did not violate Valerie Plame's free speech rights.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2007 lower court decision in its ruling Thursday. The decision barred Plame from revealing the length of her tenure with the CIA in a memoir.

The appeals court agreed that the agency made a good argument to keep the information secret.

Plame's identity was revealed in a syndicated newspaper column in 2003 after her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, began criticizing the war in Iraq.

She and her publisher sued the CIA in 2007. They claimed they had a First Amendment right to publish her dates of employment.