A federal appeals court struck down a law meant to protect children on the Internet.

Eyewitness News investigated what this means for North Carolina.

The ruling struck down an Indiana law that bans registered sex offenders from using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The court found the law restricted sex offenders' rights to free speech.

It said states have a responsibility to protect children, but these kinds of blanket bans go too far.

Eyewitness News called the state Department of Justice to see if this could affect sex offenders in North Carolina.

They sent the state law, that does ban sex offenders from using many social media websites.

The ACLU is now comparing the North Carolina law with Indiana's to see if the ruling would apply here.

Federal judges have struck down similar laws in Nebraska and Louisiana.