Ummm ... actually, no. Wiretapping and sniffing internet packets are not the same thing. Time after time, the (United States) courts have backed up those doing the sniffing, sadly. That's because TCP/IP is an inherently insecure protocol, and one can (and has) effectively argue that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy when sending and receiving information via unencrypted TCP or UDP packets. That's what Napster uses, and it's what Gnutella uses. Operation Carnivore is a good example of this. The courts ruled it was okay for the FBI to eavesdrop on emails because there is no reasonable expectation of privacy on the part of the sender and/or recipients.

Face facts, and wake up yourself before you start instructing others on the law. There is no way to ensure privacy on the internet. But that's nothing new. There's no way to ensure privacy anywhere. The key is being smart. Use encryption when transmittting sensitive information. Be careful about what information you chose to send via the internet, as opposed to other media. Don't send anything via email, web form transmission, or other insecure formats (including gnutella and napster) that you wouldn't send via a postcard with no envelope.

But this is really besides the point. Fact is, all the RIAA has to do is connect to the Gnutella network and start downloading songs. If they find people sharing their copyrighted material, they can go after the users they downloaded the material from. Your internet addy is prominently displayed in the servents, and even if it wasn't, anyone with any knowledge of internet protocols can determine the ip addy in a matter of 5 seconds.

The question of whether or not they will actually go after individual users in an effort to discourage the larger population of gnutella users remains to be seen, but there's really nothing to stop them from trying.