A new report suggests that Apple is engaged in an internal debate about the appropriate boundary between privacy and security, even as it continues its public fight against federal government efforts aimed at forcing the company to break into its encrypted products.

According to four former employees who spoke with Reuters, the issue is directed by three “privacy czars” who develop standards used by the company. Those include Jane Horvath, the company’s former global privacy counsel; Guy “Bud” Tribble, a member of the original Macintosh team; and Erik Neuenschwande, who scrutinizes code developed by the company’s engineers to ensure compliance with standards.