Apple has become a cause célèbre of late — not for releasing a slick, new gadget, but for purportedly defending civil liberties. Last month, a California court ordered Apple to help the FBI unlock the iPhone of Syed Farook — one of the shooters in the San Bernardino massacre — by creating software that bypasses some its own security systems, enabling the FBI to hack into its devices more easily. Apple refused, arguing that doing so would jeopardize First Amendment freedoms, undermine privacy, and betray user trust.

That non-cooperation has earned them the praise of the media, other Silicon Valley companies, and even Edward Snowden. And Apple’s intransigence is certainly welcome. But a dose of skepticism is also warranted. Apple has many possible motivations for stonewalling the FBI, and the company’s defense of civil liberties is at odds with its, at best, mixed track record.

Two years ago, Snowden himself revealed information suggesting that Apple had helped the NSA create exactly the kinds of backdoors it now disavows. Before privacy and security became hot-button public issues, Apple was just as willing as other Silicon Valley giants to comply with the government’s spying agencies.