It's not like Apple was kicking the doors down. It was a police task for created by the State of California specifically created to address computer crimes. Now, that task force may have overstepped their bounds (although they did have a search warrant).

The real issue is whether Jason Chen and Gizmodo are considered journalists and if they are are they covered by the Privacy Protection Act. It all depends if Jason Chen and Gizmodo knew that the phone was stolen and the fact they paid $5000 for it.

There's a reason why competing website Engadget said "No thanks!" when they were offered it first.

But to paint Apple as the bad guy here I think is a bit disingenuous and ill-informed.