Lithuania’s
Defence Ministry has advised its citizens to not buy mobile phones made by
Chinese companies and discard any if they have them over privacy concerns. Phones
made by Chinese companies have censorship abilities installed in the phones, a
Lithuanian government report has claimed.

The
Lithuanian government’s cybersecurity body said on Tuesday that phones sold across
Europe by Xiaomi, China’s electronic giant, have built-in capabilities to
discover and censor certain phrases in Chinese characters. Such phrases
include: “Free Tibet”, “Long live Taiwan independence” or “democracy movement”,
Lithuania said.

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The
Defence Ministry’s National Cyber Security Centre further said that while the
capability has been turned off in Xiaomi’s Mi 10T 5G phone for the “European
Union region”, it can be turned on remotely at any time.

“Our
recommendation is to not buy new Chinese phones, and to get rid of those
already purchased as fast as reasonably possible,” Margiris Abukevicus,
Lithuania’s Defence Deputy Minister told the media while introducing the
report. Xiaomi is yet to make an official comment.

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The
National Cyber Centre’s report further said that the Xiaomi phone was sending
encrypted phone usage data to a server in Singapore. A security flaw was also
found in the P40 5G phone by China’s Huawei, but none in another Chinese cell-phone
maker OnePlus, the report said.

Censorship
of certain words and phrases could be done through Xiaomi’s phone system apps,
including the default internet browser, according to the Lithuanian government’s
report.

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China
and Lithuania have had a difficult relationship of late. Last month, China
asked Lithuania to withdraw its ambassador from Beijing and said it would
recall its envoy in Vilnius. The strain in the relationship occurred after
Taiwan announced that its mission in Lithuania be called the Taiwanese
Representation Office.

This
ruffled China which claims Taiwan as its own territory. Taiwanese missions in
the United States and Europe are known by the name of the city Taipei.