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Law-abiding and integrity on the Internet: A case for agents

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Abstract

Software agents extend the current, information-based Internet to include autonomous mobile processing. In most countries such processes, i.e., software agents are, however, without an explicit legal status. Many of the legal implications of their actions (e.g., gathering information, negotiating terms, performing transactions) are not well understood. One important characteristic of mobile software agents is that they roam the Internet: they often run on agent platforms of others. There often is no pre-existing relation between the “owner” of a running agent’s process and the owner of the agent platform on which an agent process runs. When conflicts arise, the position of the agent platform administrator is not clear: is he or she allowed to slow down the process or possibly remove it from the system? Can the interests of the user of the agent be protected? This article explores legal and technical perspectives in protecting the integrity and availability of software agents and agent platforms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Intelligent Interactive Distributed Systems, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081a, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Frances Brazier & Niek Wijngaards

  2. Computer and Law Institute, Faculty of Law, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Anja Oskamp

  3. TILT Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society, Faculty of Law, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Corien Prins & Maurice Schellekens

Authors
  1. Frances Brazier
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  2. Anja Oskamp
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  3. Corien Prins
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  4. Maurice Schellekens
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  5. Niek Wijngaards
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Correspondence to Niek Wijngaards.

Additional information

This paper is an extended and fully revised version of Brazier et al. (2002a) and Brazier et al. (2003a).

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Brazier, F., Oskamp, A., Prins, C. et al. Law-abiding and integrity on the Internet: A case for agents. Artif Intell Law 12, 5–37 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10506-004-6250-z

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