I used to work for TiVo. The official statement from TiVo has always been that they collect anonymous data from people, unless they opt out, to feed that information to advertisers and such. This seems to fit right in with their original plan. They are staying true to their word it seems to me.
I'd rather have a stupid little thumbs up icon, or even a mini ad when fast forwarding, than the alternative, which would be to find a way to prohibit fast forwarding through commercials.
FWIW - I no longer have the TiVo service since I no longer get it for free. Instead, I use the DVR that I get for free from Comcast. Comcast struck a deal with TiVo for the markets that use the Motorola DVRs. Unfortunately, Albuquerque uses Scientific Atlanta instead, so I don't get the new features. BAH!!!