The RIAA has announced an amnesty program. From the link:
"According to sources, the RIAA will not pursue legal action if infringers delete all unauthorized music files from their computers, destroy all copies (including CD-Rs) and promise not to upload such material in the future. Each infringing household member will have to send a completed, notarized amnesty form to the RIAA, with a copy of a photo ID. Those who renege on their promise will be subject to charges of willful copyright infringement (our emphasis).
It's not much of an amnesty program when someone the RIAA doesn't know about are supposed to take actions that would prevent them from ever knowing about you in the future.
But that's not the important point, and every P2Per websites I've seen completely missed it.
The important point is the term "willful copyright infringement." If you have "willful" copyright infringement, criminal charges can be made against you. That means jail.
If you actually did what the RIAA suggested, complete with notarized statements and all, and they caught you at it again, you've given them a ready-made criminal case tied with a bow proving "willfulness" which they can then hand over to the authorities to try and get you a stay at Club Fed.
This is too much even for me.
While I don't think P2Pers have been exactly hammering the RIAA site looking for the amnesty form
, actually doing this would come close to qualifying you for a Darwin Award (non-lethal class, anyway).
If you want to come clean, and fly right, just get rid of the stuff and sin no more.