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CIPA Compliance

Content filtering software from Lightspeed Systems® helps K-12 schools ensure that they’re in compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA).

The most effective CIPA-compliant filter

While schools are required to implement a web filtering solution that blocks obscene and harmful content to minors, not all web filters for K-12 schools are created equal when it comes to CIPA compliance. Lightspeed Filter™ is the most effective CIPA-compliant filter in the space and was designed exclusively for K-12 schools.

With its comprehensive database, advanced AI technology, and powerful filtering features, Lightspeed Filter effectively blocks inappropriate content from students, helping schools meet CIPA regulations on every device. Deploying a robust content filtering system such as Lightspeed Filter should be on every K-12 district’s CIPA compliance checklist.

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What is required for CIPA compliance?​

To achieve CIPA compliance, districts must adopt an Internet Safety Policy (ISP) that utilizes web filtering technology to protect students from harmful online content while ensuring the security of their personal information. By effectively blocking obscene material on any device—even school-owned mobile devices used off the school network—Lightspeed Filter helps schools meet CIPA filtering requirements and other student internet safety regulations.

Filter dangerous, inappropriate online content to protect student mental health​

Students having access to inappropriate, harmful images and other content can have lasting consequences for their mental and physical health. Countless studies show children who have had negative internet experiences have an increased risk of:

  • Increased risk of depression
  • Increased risk of self-harm
  • Increased anxiety, depression, and acts of self-harm.

Lightspeed Filter is a CIPA-compliant content filter that effectively blocks pornographic content, helping reduce the long-term adverse effects that can come from viewing adult content.

In addition to blocking explicit material, Lightspeed’s content filtering for CIPA compliance protects against malware, extremist propaganda, sites that promote eating disorders, and online threats that could compromise student data. Your district’s network infrastructure, students, and staff are all holistically protected from online dangers with Lightspeed Filter.

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Outperforms other content filtering software for K-12 schools​

We conducted tests of CIPA compliance across other content filters and discovered that some popular school web filters can’t effectively block inappropriate content, putting CIPA compliance and student safety at risk.

Superior CIPA filtering

Of more than 3,200 unambiguous sites with graphic content we tested (randomly pulled from our database of more than 300,000 domains), other web filters allowed 60% or more, while Lightspeed Filter blocked 100% of the graphic content.

When inappropriate sites were blocked by other content filters, their results were slow and inconsistent—many of the sites were fully visible for up to 20 seconds before eventually being blocked. Lightspeed Filter blocked these inappropriate sites before they loaded.

Precision Categorization

With the ability to categorize more than 170 million YouTube videos and 200 million domains into 139 categories, Lightspeed Filter is the most precise web filter on the market. Lightspeed Filter offers school districts one of the most powerful filters in the industry, all without blocking sites that teachers and students need to get schoolwork done. Unlike other filters that over-block, Lightspeed Filter’s adaptive AI database knows the difference, effectively differentiating and filtering out inappropriate, adult content while allowing valuable, educational materials through.

If students try to bypass your filter with proxy websites, the device-level protection offered by Lightspeed Filter will stop them. Additionally, settings are available to disable a student’s internet for repeat attempts. This device-level protection means your IT team has one less headache to worry about to keep your school CIPA-compliant.

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Enhanced social media safety​

Lightspeed Filter provides customizable social media permissions so schools can allow and disallow specific social media access. Schools can decide how social platforms are used by blocking social media sites, allowing social media sites, or allowing them as read-only. These settings can be set by age, group, or user, so it’s easy to get the right controls for the right users at the right time.

Lightspeed Filter’s full integration with Lightspeed Alert means social media activity on school devices is continuously scanned. Inappropriate social media content is flagged to alert teachers and appropriate school officials so action can be taken.

Block unknown sites with an unrivaled database​

Alternative content filters don’t fully meet CIPA compliance regulations because they can’t entirely block sites that are unknown or not in their database. Their databases simply aren’t mature enough. With Lightspeed Filter’s unrivaled database of over 200 million (and growing) websites, paired with its categorization of sites within hours of their creation, unknown content isn’t unknown for long, keeping students safe on school devices.

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Student safety beyond CIPA filtering compliance​

Keeping students safe online isn’t only about being CIPA-compliant. To help safeguard students from violent content—one of the most crucial topics in CIPA compliance—schools can leverage Lightspeed Alert as another layer of protection to their school’s filter.

Lightspeed Alert is a critical component in student safety plans and the prevention of school violence. AI detects and flags signs of violence, self-harm, cyberbullying, and suicide. With image scanning technology, Lightspeed Alert agents can monitor and detect images of weapons, nudity, and other explicit content so districts have all the documentation they need to keep students safe. When an alert is generated, designated district and school safety administrators are notified instantly of threats so they can intervene before an incident occurs.

Lightspeed Alert integrates seamlessly with Lightspeed Filter, helping to protect students in real time.