A disturbing number of these cases involve first time offenders with no previous psychiatric or criminal history who meet children via cyberspace. Forensic evaluations often assess the role of electronic anonymity in the development of deviant, deceptive, and illegal sexual online acts. The movement toward classification of Internet addiction as a mental disorder has already been discussed by such organizations as the American Psychiatric Association and the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. The growing scientific validity and clinical legitimacy of Internet addiction places corporations who use the Internet in the workplace under significant liability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under the ADA, mental disorders are a protected classification.
Trends already show that employee Internet abuse is on the rise.
While most of these claims are settled out of court, employment lawyers continue to find solutions to protect firms from potential liability. The president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers indicated that there has been a notable rise in the number of divorce cases involving cyberaffairs and online addiction over the past year. Beyond divorce matters, the issue of Internet addiction has played a significant role in child custody hearings. Frequently, such Internet abuse leads to neglectful behavior on the part of the custodial parent, often times the mother, leaving the non-custodial parent to fight for full custody. To provide written affidavits to support the scientific validity of Internet addiction and the nature of online behavior.