I saw this (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558484075236968.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories) on CNN today. The expert they interviewed on CNN brought up a lot of the points I bring up (even Google was mentioned).
Now to read the article! :D
Heh, I didn't realize this was news. I saw a talk at last year's Defcon about how much information apps can collect. I guess nobody bothered fixing it. :)
There's money to be made in collecting this info. What the hell kind of company wouldn't?