Piracy on wireless Internet raises legal challenges

Think twice the next time you access the Internet at home on your wireless laptop. Your next-door neighbour, even passersby outside your home, could be tagging along for the ride and leave no trace of their online adventures, such as sharing music files, something the Canadian Recording Industry Association is intent on prosecuting. CRIA's attempt last week to get names and addresses of suspected heavy music traders from the country's top Internet-service providers underscores the difficulty of telling the good guys from the bad guys over the Internet.

Routers that cost less than $100 not only let many computers share one Internet connection, they create a firewall to protect the identity of every connected computer. That makes it difficult to track down who exactly is copying music illegally, an argument the ISPs used to delay a court hearing to March 12 on the recording industry's request.

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