What are you implying here? That the violation isn't as bad because the data was already being collected by other agencies/companies?

I believe the question being raised is the opposite: that this violation is bad, and we cannot neglect the other violations already being done remotely by these other agencies.

yes, this exactly. thank you. im not some paranoid "tinfoil hat" person as accused below.

I mean, we see the articles posted here on hackernews daily about insecure information security, corporate malfeasance, and stories like this where law enforcement steps over legal boundaries.

I dont think its an incredible position to hold that intelligence agencies exploit all 3 of those situations, including any number of undisclosed zero-days, in order to surveil broad swaths of the population.

No, I'm not saying the seizure of the phone is less egregious. Rather, I'm asserting that intelligence agencies almost certainly operate outside the law regularly. That doesn't make the first thing less bad, but it does show our whole situation to be far worse.

"is collected by most every intelligence agency, without a warrant"

This is tinfoil hat stuff. Depending on the data and the situation, they need warrants just like everyone else.

Given that Intelligence Agencies are often times under the direction of State Departments, and State Departments are constantly breaking international and domestic law, what gives you your confidence in their commitment to operating within legal boundaries?

>they need warrants

I don't believe this is true.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/09/nsa-loophole-w...

Edward Snowden leaks plainly prove it's not tinfoil hat.