This issue has bothered me a lot. Can somebody with authority shed some light to the below which claims that the Canonical has root to everyone's ubuntu installation? "Dont' trust us, erm, we have root. you do trust us with your data already..." What?? If this is NOT true, then we need that statement retracted as it's not even funny. I think the public needs to know with 100% certainty as to what the below means.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_...ting_system%29

quote
Citing concerns about data leaks, The Electronic Frontier Foundation has outlined a number of requested improvements for future versions, asking Ubuntu developers to "make sure that you respect your users' privacy and security."[145][146][147] Responding to criticism of the earlier beta version, in relation to privacy complaints, Shuttleworth said "Your anonymity is preserved because we handle the query on your behalf. Don’t trust us? Erm, we have root. You do trust us with your data already."[138] The user can revoke Canonical's permission to collect and distribute such data by modifying settings in the Privacy panel.[147]
end quote

Thanks.