| WHITE HOUSE: 'NO DECISIONS' ON 5G: The White House said Monday there had been "no decisions" made about creating a nationalized 5G broadband network after reports about the proposal sparked fierce blowback. "Right now we're in the very earliest stages of the conversation. There are absolutely no decisions made on what that would look like, what role anyone would play in it," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at Monday's press briefing. She added that the focus for now was "simply the need for a secure network." National Security Council spokesperson Marc Raimondi made similar comments. "All options are under consideration, and we are firmly committed to working with the American telecom and technical sectors to support a solution," Raimondi said in an emailed statement to The Hill. Read more here. THE BACKGROUND: An report from Axios on Sunday detailed a National Security Council memo and PowerPoint which proposed a nationalized wireless broadband network designed to guard against state-sponsored hacks by China. The NSC documents weighed two options: A nationalized 5G network within the next three years that would help stave off foreign cybersecurity threats, or having wireless providers create their own networks to compete against one another. The documents contended that the second option would be more costly and time-consuming. More on the Axios report here. THE BLOWBACK: The report brought quick opposition from across the spectrum, with Federal Communication Commission members, House Republican lawmakers and telecom industry groups all rejecting the idea. "There is nothing that would slam the breaks more quickly on our hard-won momentum to be the leader in the global race for 5G network deployment more quickly than the federal government stepping-in to build those networks," said Jonathan Spalter, present of trade association USTelecom. FCC CHAIR OPPOSES: Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is opposing a reported White House proposal to nationalize a 5G network currently being developed by the private sector. "The main lesson to draw from the wireless sector's development over the past three decades -- including American leadership in 4G -- is that the market, not government, is best positioned to drive innovation and investment," Pai said in a statement Monday morning. Pai, who is held in high regard by the industry, argued that the government's only role in 5G development should be to set rules for the marketplace that would encourage innovation. "Any federal effort to construct a nationalized 5G network would be a costly and counterproductive distraction from the policies we need to help the United States win the 5G future," Pai said. The other four FCC commissioners, including both Democrats, quickly echoed Pai's concerns about the reported plan. "A network built by the federal government, I fear, does not leverage the best approach needed for our nation to win the 5G race," said Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. "There is a worldwide race to lead in #5G and other nations are poised to win," Jessica Rosenworcel, the other Democrat, wrote on Twitter. "But the remedy proposed here really misses the mark." Read more here. GOP CHAIRMAN ALSO DISMISSES 5G TAKEOVER: Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, rejected the idea of nationalizing the country's 5G network on Monday. "We're not Venezuela -- we don't need to have the government run everything as the only choice," Walden said during an interview at the State of the Net conference in Washington, D.C. Walden said he had not known about the proposal and did not believe it was being seriously considered. Read more here. Please send your tips, comments and compliments to Ali Breland (abreland@thehill.com) and Harper Neidig (hneidig@thehill.com) and follow us on Twitter: @alibreland and @hneidig. We're also on Signal and WhatsApp. Email or DM us for our numbers. FACEBOOK RELEASES PRIVACY PRINCIPLES: Facebook released a set of privacy principles Monday aimed at helping users understand how the social media giant handles their data and what they can do to shield their information from other users. The principles include giving users control of their data and keeping it secure from hackers. Others state the company's commitment to constantly improving their design and holding themselves accountable with user privacy in mind. Facebook also announced on Monday that it would post educational videos instructing users on issues such as adjusting their privacy settings and removing old content from their profiles. Read more here. FACEBOOK TO GET LOCAL: Mark Zuckerberg said Monday that Facebook will now start showing users more local news stories in their feeds -- the latest in a string of reforms the company has announced this year. "Local news helps build community -- both on and offline," Zuckerberg wrote in a post. "It's an important part of making sure the time we all spend on Facebook is valuable." Starting Monday, Zuckerberg said, local news stories shared by users or the news outlets themselves will show up higher in users' feeds. The Facebook CEO suggested that promoting local news could lead to increased civic engagement and less polarization. Read more here. MASSIVE CRYPTO THEFT: A Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange is coming under the scrutiny of Japanese regulators after hackers pulled off what may be the largest cryptocurrency theft to date. The hackers made off with hundreds of millions in virtual currency from the exchange, Coincheck, on Friday. Japan's financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), on Monday ordered the exchange to "improve business operations" following the "illicit transfer," Coincheck announced in a blog post. The FSA ordered Coincheck to investigate the incident, submit a written report, provide proper support to customers, and to strengthen and develop new methods to prevent future thefts. The agency gave the exchange a Feb. 13 deadline to comply. "In moving towards reopening our services, we are putting all of our efforts towards discovering the cause of the illicit transfer and overhauling and strengthening our security measures while simultaneously continuing in our efforts to register with the Financial Services Agency as a Virtual Currency Exchange Service Provider," Coincheck said. Reports vary on the how much NEM, a type of cryptocurrency, the hackers snatched from the exchange, with estimates ranging from $400 million to $530 million. Read more here. UBER LAYS OUT INFRASTRUCTURE PRINCIPLES: Uber laid out a set of principles Monday that it hopes the Trump administration will address in its promised infrastructure proposal. The ride-sharing company wants the government to ramp up investments in improving the nation's roads and public transportation systems. Uber's list comes as the White House has been promising to release its infrastructure proposal as soon as this month and reflects the company's efforts to establish more of a presence in Washington. "We are largely regulated at the state level. We operate at the local level, but we understand how important the role of the federal government is to the maintenance and modernization of our nation's infrastructure," Danielle Burr, Uber's head of federal affairs, told The Hill. Read more here. ON TAP: The FCC will hold its monthly open meeting at 10:30 a.m. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on broadband infrastructure at 10:00 a.m. Read more about the hearing here. New America will hold an event about online speech at noon. TechFreedom will hold an event about fighting online sex trafficking at 3:45 p.m. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Guardian: Elon Musk sells $3.5m worth of flamethrowers in a day Bloomberg: Massive cryptocurrency heist spurs call for more regulation The Wall Street Journal: Intel warned Chinese companies of chip flaws before U.S. government The Next Web: Net neutrality activist 'throttles' street outside FCC building | 
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