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Parents may have known nothing about this, but other people did. Even really smart kids like Matrix could become complacent.

In taking over poorly protected servers, then storing and playing games on them, Matrix was not actually doing anything wrong. At the turn of the millennium this was not a crime in Germany, and the issue of copyright in the digital age was opaque — already teenagers and young adults had started sharing music files using Audiogalaxy and Napster. These were websites where, if you wanted to download Queen’s 'Bohemian Rhapsody', for example, they would direct you to a PC somewhere in the world on which the song was stored. Using the website as a bridge, you could then download a copy onto your computer.

In a very short space of time, millions of people figured out that they no longer had to purchase recorded music — everything was avail- able for free! While file-sharing was a mere inconvenience to the computer-games business, it was a huge challenge to the music industry. To combat the problem they would need lawyers to redefine copyright for the digital age; then they would have to persuade legislators to pass laws in that spirit; finally, they had to convince the cops that appre- hending digital pirates was part of their job. Furthermore, the music trade would have to develop new technical devices to prevent the prac- tice (something they have signally failed to do).

The practice of sharing music files that are small and easy to transfer from computer to computer spread like wildfire. Music sales in the United States peaked in 1999 at just over $14.5 billion, but started to fall the following year, and that is what they have been doing ever since.

By contrast, the unauthorised downloading of games that were much more unwieldy made barely a dent on physical CD-Rom and DVD sales, which kept growing year-on-year. If anything, the downloaders helped to advertise games. So the worst thing that could be said about Matrix’s cyber activity was that it deprived him of sleep and led to his homework being neglected.

But then Matrix, almost without noticing it himself, shuffled one little step further down a spiral of mischief.

The advertising industry had discovered the Internet and, like everyone else, it was trying to work out how best to exploit it. The Web offered distinct advantages for advertisers — first, you could target your potential audience with much greater accuracy. If you want to sell nappies, then avoid websites that cater for skydivers and concentrate

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