Axios

The Federal Communications Commission will vote next month on a plan that would block a big federal program from buying gear or services from companies that “pose a national security threat” to U.S. communications networks. FCC Chair Ajit Pai made the announcement Monday.

The backdrop: Pai didn’t say what companies or countries the measure will target. But his move comes days after he wrote congressional lawmakers about security concerns over "Huawei and other Chinese technology companies."

Be smart: Some U.S. security experts have raised concerns that Chinese-made devices and software might contain "back doors" or other risks. But the program at issue, the FCC's Universal Service Fund, provides subsidies for people who can’t afford digital access. So this national security move might also be a feint in the Trump administration's trade war.

Cook County of Illinois is suing Facebook and Cambridge Analytica for running afoul of a state fraud law. The lawsuit alleges that Cambridge Analytica deceived millions of Illinois Facebook users whose information was collected inappropriately, and that Facebook did not protect users' privacy.

• "Facebook is not a social media company; it is the largest data mining operation in existence,” the complaint says. "Facebook...continues to conduct a wide array of human subject research experiments."

Why it matters: This is the first instance of a lawsuit brought by a government at the local and state level over the data collection scandal. The Federal Trade Commission also confirmed Monday that it is investigating Facebook's data protection practices. Cook County is seeking civil penalties and fines up to $50,000 per violation — aka per Facebook user in the county.

Google's Chrome OS, which has largely been focused on inexpensive laptops, has arrived on the first tablet — the $329 Chromebook Tab from Acer.

Why it matters: Apple is holding an education-themed event in Chicago on Tuesday, where it is likely to talk about how the latest iPad software and hardware make it the right device for schools. Chromebooks have already taken a big slice of the K-12 market, so having a tablet option could help its competitive case.

The Senate Judiciary Committee said Monday it had invited Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to testify about its data practices following the scandal over Cambridge Analytica's collection of the social giant's user information. It also asked the chief executives of Google and Twitter to testify at the April 10 hearing on data privacy. The House Energy and Commerce and Senate Commerce Committees called on Zuckerberg to testify last week.

Why it matters: Requests for Zuckerberg to testify are getting more common among powerful Republicans, increasing the odds of a dramatic Capitol Hill confrontation between lawmakers and the CEO.

"Fire Mark Zuckerberg" has become a rallying cry for the #DeleteFacebook crowd, as controversy continues to swirl over revelations that 50 million users had their personal data improperly accessed by a Trump-linked analytics firm.

Reality check: Zuck isn't going anywhere.

The Federal Trade Commission on Monday morning confirmed that it has opened a non-public investigation into Facebook for its user privacy practices.

Market impact: Facebook shares are down 2% as of 12:30pm.

An Axios-SurveyMonkey poll conducted last week shows that the public remains relatively split on how regulation of tech might play out. By a 53-to-43 margin, more people continue to worry that the government won’t go far enough rather than fear it will do too much.

After a week of brutal publicity about Facebook data-harvesting by outsiders, including Cambridge Analytica, a new nightmare began for Mark Zuckerberg's company over the weekend.

The headline, from Ars Technica, a tech site owned by Condé Nast: "Facebook scraped call, text message data for years from Android phones."

An exclusive poll for Axios by SurveyMonkey found that Facebook's favorability has plunged in the last five months.

The big picture: In the Axios/SurveyMonkey poll comparing views in October with last week (2,878 adults in the U.S.; error estimate: 2.5 points), Facebook's already low net favorability (favorable minus unfavorable) dropped twice as much as the other tech giants.