I have an iTunes question for y'all.

I have just recently upgraded my copy of iTunes to version 8, which includes a new feature called "Genius Sidebar." The idea is that iTunes will compare the contents of your music library with the contents of other iTunes users' music library to assemble a recommended playlist on the basis of what you got and how other people who have what you got group their music. This new feature will also make recommendations as to new music you might like on the basis of what you have and what ratings you've given.

In order to offer this wonderful new feature, iTunes must send the list of your music library's contents to iTunes central, where all the crunching can be done in order to put together these recommendations and playlists.

I'm tempted to try this technology. However...

I used to work in radio, so I have a *ton* of CDs in my collection which had been given to me as promotional spiffs. (Record companies send several copies of each CD to radio stations, in the hopes that the djs will take one for themselves to listen to in the car, become attached to, and then become more likely to play their particular artists, etc.) My collection is so large, I can't imagine that it wouldn't set off red flags as me being a collector of dubious legality. (I'm legit! I'm legit! But who wants to have to prove it? Just like I pay my taxes every year, but have no desire to be audited by the IRS... I just don't want to have to deal with the RIAA under any circumstances, even with me being legal.)

The "more info" page regarding the Genius Sidebar says that your music library information is sent to Apple "anonymously". So, here's my question for all y'all who are more technically aware than I am: can I trust that by allowing Apple to know my iTunes music library's contents that this information won't someday be used to make me a "person of interest" to the RIAA -- the scariest organization in the United States after the IRS and Homeland Security?

For the time being, I have the Genius Sidebar turned off. I don't know how smart it would be to consult a Genius if that genius is really a spook working for those evil minions at the RIAA.