There is a business case for a company to collect anonymous usage data and improve products. I consider it the market analysis and customer satisfaction survey of the internet era. My Google and Microsoft products want to do this. My internet services like Netflix and Amazon want to do it. My bank sends offers based on card use and spending trends.
That said, there is no justification for any company to collect any customer data without explicit consent and even with consent, but, without making the user aware of exactly what data is collected. Further, a company cannot indemnify itself from customer reprisal should the collected data lead to privacy violations. T&C, EULA and other end user agreements are being used to distract the user from these logical conclusions.
I don't mind having my data mined as long as the process is controlled by me and for my benefit. For example, Netflix knows my viewing history to help better rank suggestions and Google Now to keep me better engaged with local events via geolocating my Nexus 5. My antivirus is set to auto update the definitions but not send usage data. I will definitely not let my data be used for outright marketing (I'm looking at you Facebook).
In context with AV, my Denon AVR wanted to phone home and lay my soul bare. This was enabled by default. Needless to say, I turned that "feature" off immediately.
Edit: The LG sending information gleaned from USB drives is an egregious violation of privacy. There is absolutely no justification for it.
