> The disturbing revelation here is that it sounds like the federal government has direct backdoor access to all these records without having to show any warrants.

This is since a looong time. HTTPS does not offers any security. It just serves to identify you in case they want to.

Every telco in every country has specific systems for handling wiretaps, it’s called “LI” - “lawful intercept”. They don’t like to talk about it, even with their employees