> It's sending back arbitrary data to someone else without explicit authorization.
You are giving very explicit authorization by agreeing to the EULA.
> You own your computer. You explicitly decide what data comes from it. NO EXCEPTIONS.
That's still true. And by installing a product and agreeing to a EULA which includes a section on telemetry you are doing just that. Thus, your options are "don't install the software" or "opt-out".
Yes they are as long as it's clear you are agreeing to something, which is why pop-up EULA's have an I agree button and obligate you to scroll to the bottom.
GDPR does not make collecting aggregate data unlawful, so unless you can prove that the data collection is identifiable then GDPR doesn't apply.
It's impossible to 'anonymize' telemetry data. It's meaningless since it can be 'de-anonymized' usually within a few queries. Claiming that it's 'anonymized' is just a marketing word used by tech companies.
Nope. Specht v. Netscape Communications Corp. dealt exactly with this sort of click through 'telemetry'. Doesn't matter if it's in a shrinkwrap license.
Eh, not quite so clear-cut. There were some big caveats in that decision "clicking on a download button does not show assent to license terms if those terms were not conspicuous and if it was not explicit to the consumer that clicking meant agreeing to the license" [0]
It doesn't appear to say clickwraps are non-binding, only that it has to be "conspicuous" and basically that a user knew they were agreeing to something. Unfortunately that too is open to interpretation. As with most things of this nature, if someone wants to sue, they can sue, and it's a resource fight in the courts.
You are giving very explicit authorization by agreeing to the EULA.
> You own your computer. You explicitly decide what data comes from it. NO EXCEPTIONS.
That's still true. And by installing a product and agreeing to a EULA which includes a section on telemetry you are doing just that. Thus, your options are "don't install the software" or "opt-out".