This type of thing pisses me off. NOT because it isn't true, but because it isn't just the government doing it and takes being used as a political tool before someone publicizes it. You can send proof of this type of activity by various other software companies and news outlets just ignore it until something like this pops up that can be used to further a political agenda.
Ever since (partially) Windows XP and fully with Windows Vista on, your computer spies on everything you do and reports it back. If you are running Windows or Mac you don't fully own your PC. It polices YOU rather than the other way around. All the DRM (google it) and phone home routines in commercial software today is absolutely beyond frightening.
Get a clue and turn on network sniffers on your own network and watch the traffic when various software packages are started up. What you run, when you run it, what you have installed and your usage patterns are all recorded and sent by various packages on your machine.
With Microsoft, video drivers can be disabled remotely software can be added and removed from your machine without your approval, etc. With Mac OS, the same thing. Companies don't respect who actually owns the computer anymore.
Microsoft, Apple, and Autodesk (Autocad packages) are the worst offenders. Others companies do it to a lesser degree.
What is so bad is that so called SOFTWARE firewall packages like Symantec's Internet Security, McAfees Internet security, BlackICE, Comodo and ALL of the packages that work on Microsoft PRE-whitelist this network activity without your consent.
This isn't tin foil hat stuff, its fact and its sickening that no one cares. I preach it and PROVE it to people and all they care about is having the familiar environment of windows or mac. Not what it means to their privacy, security and control of their own machines. People should be beating the doors down on these companies and demanding that the owner has full control and no-one else.
Its why I went to open source and linux and will never look back to the commercial packages again.