The record industry opened a new front in its 
war against online piracy on Tuesday by surprising 
hundreds of thousands of Internet song swappers 
with an instant message warning that they could be 
"easily" identified and face "legal penalties" for their 
actions.

Music Industry Sends Warning to Song Swappers

Since the U.S. Court ruled that the peer 2 peer networks couldn’t be held responsible for what it’s users did, the RIAA is trying to scare the users of these networks into submission.