The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense has advised citizens to avoid buying Chinese mobile phones. Moreover, the authorities advise those who are already in possession of such a device to throw it away immediately, after a government report found the presence of censorship mechanisms built into Xiaomi products.
Phones marketed in Europe by Chinese giant Xiaomi Corp. have the ability to detect and censor terms such as "free Tibet", "live Taiwan independence" or "democracy", Lithuanian cybersecurity officials said on Tuesday. The settings embedded in the Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G phone software have been disabled for the European Union region, but can be activated remotely at any time, said the cyber security center of the Ministry of Defense. "Our recommendation is not to buy new Chinese phones and get rid of those already purchased as soon as possible," said Minister Margiris Abukevicius. Xiaomi has not responded to a request for comment from Reuters reporters.
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Encrypted data sent to Singapore
The national cybersecurity report suggests that Xiaomi phones are sending encrypted data to a server in Singapore. A security breach was also discovered in the Huawei P40 5G phone, but no such problem was detected in the products of the Chinese manufacturer OnePlus. The Baltic representative from Huawei told BNS News that his phones do not send user data to an external source.
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The document states that the list of terms that could be censored by Xiaomi phones, including the default internet browser, currently includes 449 terms in Chinese and is constantly updated. "This is important not only for Lithuania, but also for all countries that use Xiaomi equipment," according to The Guardian.
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Divergences between China and Lithuania
Relations between Lithuania and China have recently deteriorated. The Chinese administration last month demanded that the European country withdraw its ambassador to Beijing and plans to call home the envoy from Vilnius, after Taiwan announced that its mission in Lithuania will be called the Taiwan Representative Office. Taiwanese missions in Europe and the United States officially use the name of the city of Taipei, avoiding a reference to the island whose independence is not recognized by China. Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to US President Joe Biden, spoke last week with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and highlighted US support for Chinese pressure.
Xiaomi's reaction
"Xiaomi devices do not censor communication to or from users. Xiaomi has never restricted and will not block any personal behavior of users, such as searching, calling, browsing the Internet or using third-party communication software. Xiaomi respectfully protects and protects all the legal rights of its users. Xiaomi complies with the European Union's Personal Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), "said the company's representatives.
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