Sigint has been around signals signals were around.
The only reason I see a reason to distinguish is what the info collected is being used to so America can blackmail German citizens, that is shitty. But if we are just trying to collect information about Germany or people who just happen to be in German who are people of interest? That is the NSA mission.
The real issue is the potential for abuse. But the US government has plenty of stuff it could really abuse.