I am not saying needing an account is a good thing - I would understand a criticism such that it is an inconvenience to set it up (I somewhat agree), but a privacy issue? Give me a break. As pichlo mentioned, they already know your IMEI, for god's sake.

I understand the requirement from developer's point of view:
The account is needed for many things - commenting on apps, rating apps, installing TOH software (tied up to an account), opt-in upgrades (like Uitukka or the network update during the summer), etc.
It is much more convenient to ask the user to create an account in the beginning (made up credentials don't matter) and then presume that everyone has one, than to add a checking mechanism to each and every situation that requires it.
Adding a checking code and "Oh, you don't have an account, do this first" dialogue in every app is a PIA and most of all, creates an inconsistency, because you have two groups of users, behaving differently.

Again, I am definitely not a fan of accounts (wasn't pleasantly surprised when I couldn't enter my Kobo without one), but all I'm saying is I can understand the reasons without all the 'evil spies' paranoia.