This is now the 2nd "clarification" that Muse group, the new team in charge of Audacity, has recently put out - the first one being here[0]. At this point, it's clear that they are taking the product in an unpopular direction. So why keep pushing an online-first privacy policy and telemetry? Certainly it is not one of the pressing needs of the core product.
Honestly, it will take some convincing to make me think this isn't nefarious at this point. At a minimum, the community is not being listened to, just placated.