What are the similarities between the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the Neighborhood Children's Internet Protection Act (NCIPA)? Are CIPA and NCIPA necessary to protect our children? Are they actually just acts of censorship? This article will compare the two acts and explore some different interpretations of the First Amendment; specifically Article 13. We will then cover the case of the American Library Association challenging the writs against the United States in 2003. This document will show both sides of the case and how and why the United States won. Clearly there is material on the Web that is educationally unsuitable and pervasively vulgar (Chmara, 2010). CIPA and NCIPA are two similar laws that went into effect on April 20, 2001. They were passed to implement web monitoring software for children. CIPA offers discounts through an E-rate or LIPA program if school libraries use web filters to block certain content. They can request discounts online. NCIPA uses the same filters and has the same concept, but it is used in public libraries and no discounts are offered. CIPA applicants cannot receive the discounts offered by the E-rate program unless they certify that they have an Internet security policy that includes technological protection measures. Protective measures must block or filter access on the Internet to images that are: (a) obscene; (b) child pornography; or (c) harmful to minors (for computers accessed by minors) (Federal Communications Commission, 2001). CIPA and NCIPA don't actually keep a log of every website you view. They do not track the content that is accessed on a computer, instead they simply block access to inappropriate content in the first......middle of the paper......n unlimited amount of information that can be published by anyone, anywhere in the world. That can be a wonderful thing, but sometimes too much information can do more harm than good. Our children are growing up faster and faster, with unlimited access to unlimited information that we never even imagined would be possible twenty years ago. I believe CIPA and NCIPA are absolutely necessary and should be applauded, not frowned upon. They are protecting the innocence of America's youth. Parents need to be able to trust that their children will not be exposed to any harmful material while doing research for school or while trying to play a simple, harmless game on the Internet. Parents can't always be there to protect their children, but CIPA and NCIPA can help them put their mind at ease and intervene to protect their children in areas that are out of their reach.