Deciphering Pervasive Computing: A Study of Jurisdiction, E-Fraud and Privacy in Pervasive Computing Environment

Abstract

Pervasive computing and communications is emerging rapidly as an exciting new paradigm and discipline to provide computing and communication services all the time and everywhere. Its systems are now invading every aspect of life to the point that they are disappearing inside all sorts of appliances or can be worn unobtrusively as part of clothing and jewelry. This emergence is a natural outcome of research and technological advances in wireless networks, embedded systems, mobile computing, distributed computing, and agent technologies. At the same time, this emergence brings challenging issues to the legal framework surrounding it. As well recognized, law is a discipline that has direct relevance to human behaviour and its adjoining environment. Thus, a study of law can be a study of the living environment and the people who are in it. This surely brings difficulties for us to study the law in a future scenario such as pervasive computing environment. Attempting to forecast the future of law, technology, and human behavior is a very risky proposition. Hence, it is impossible to fully discuss topics such as “legal aspects of pervasive computing”. This chapter aims to provide a general observation of various legal issues connecting with pervasive computing technologies. To avoid a skeleton introduction piece, the main part of this chapter concentrates on three particular issues: Jurisdiction and the choice of law issue, electronic fraud issue, and the privacy issue. These three are unsettled issues in the current computing environment and believed to become more complicated and controversial in the near future with a wider adoption of ubiquitous computing technology. In the end, this chapter suggests that, to serve the future computing environment better, the legal and regulatory framework should focus on the improvement of internal monitoring of risks and vulnerabilities greater information sharing about these risks and vulnerabilities. Moreover, the role of government should focus on education and training on the care and use of these technologies and better reporting of risks and responses. A fully embedded computing environment that is safe and sound to live in will need more collaboration between individuals, commercial organizations, and the government.