The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. I would argue that resisting evil actions by good people is more noble than resisting evil actions by evil people, because you stand a better chance of changing things when they don't intend to be evil.
I've never had my phone searched, but if they tried, I'd say, "Good luck cracking my password. Can I go now?"
What's "brave" about it? I'm a programmer making a good salary, and all I have to lose is my phone. I can buy another one if they decide to threaten me with seizure.
If you don't think it's an evil action, then why are you phrasing it as "I still believe they're trying to do the right thing"? I interpret that as "I think they're doing the wrong thing, but I don't mind because they think it's the right thing." If it's not evil then why not defend the action on its own merits, rather than appealing to the fundamental goodness of the organization?
When I read the article, my first thought that I'd let them keep the phone. Mine is quite old and I've been debating buying a new one since it is giving me trouble. Something like that would just be good excuse to get a new one.
If it were a brand new phone, I might think harder about it - but we really need to stand up to crap like this.
I've never had my phone searched, but if they tried, I'd say, "Good luck cracking my password. Can I go now?"