The US international peer-reviewed journal World Journal of Public Health has published scientific  article by Prof. Louis-Francois Pau (Copenhagen Business School & Erasmus University of Rotterdam) and Prof. Zviad Kirtava (Caucasus University – Caucasus School of Medicine and Healthcare Management) - International Survey & Analysis of Laws and Regulations Addressing Internet Addiction and/or Problematic Usage of the Internet, link to the article

Internet addiction or Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI) despite of being recognized as serious challenge of individual mental health and societal well-being, has not yet been recognised as a disorder by the World Health Organization (WHO), nor in the American Psychiatric Association’s list of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, the related diagnosis of online gaming disorder (6C50) and online gaming disorder (6C51) have been included in the forthcoming 11^th revision of WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). This paper is focussing on top-down laws voted in a Parliament, or enacted public regulations and some industry wide regulations, which, in different countries, tackle one or several facets of Internet addiction (PUI).

This international survey is carried out on a basis of laws and regulations in each country, with Internet addiction or PUI as a direct or indirect scope. This has resulted early 2020 in the identification and summarization of a catalogue of 66 laws or regulations from 50 countries, each described in template form in a supplementary document. The identified laws and regulations are analysed with respect to specific consequences of the Internet addictions, as well as by categories of stakeholders addressed in these measures. The laws and regulations are also classified in terms of the underlying principles and solution approaches, showing large cultural differences.