> And, no, you don't have root or control of my data, unless you're telling us about some backdoors you're inserting into Ubuntu.

There are many cases where code controlled by Canonical runs with root privileges: The installer, the package system, a whole host of daemons (that usually drop-privileges after starting but still, they start as root). Every time you install a package, that package can run arbitrary code with root privileges -- this is why you shouldn't install package archives / PPAs you don't trust.

Basically what he meant was you place ultimate trust in Canonical by letting them control every single binary on your machine.