A trial balloon is floating over DC: the Trump administration is considering nationalizing the next wireless standard called "5g." Supporters say nationalizing the standard would protect against Chinese and Russian hackers.
Tech writer Matt Granite says he can see both sides.
"Would it cut down on hacking? Absolutely. But does it open it up to all sorts of other ethical, moral and government issues in terms of our free speech? Absolutely."
Granite says centralizing security makes sense.
"If you have one company that's regulated by the government or a government regulating type of security standard, you may have -- instead of several thousand ways in -- maybe several dozen ways in."
Supporters say centralizing security would make it harder for Chinese and Russian hackers to do widespread damage.
"So just in terms of statistical odds -- and I have the pleasure of speaking to hackers on a daily basis for some of the work that I do -- you're less likely to get that massive hack if there is a regulation across the board -- not that I'm in favor of it at all."
Granite says letting the government control 5g would stifle innovation and delay deployment -- which is already at least a year away.