The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense has recommended consumers to avoid buying Chinese mobile phones and to better dispose of existing mobile phones.
As Lithuania’s State Cyber Security Agency announced on Tuesday (local time), according to a government report, internal control functions have been found in mobile phones.
Lithuania: Chinese mobile phones are under censorship – also in Europe
According to the agency, mobile phones sold by European smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp will recognize and censor terms such as “Free Tibet”, “Long live Taiwan independence” or “democracy movement”.
A security vulnerability has also been found in the P40 5G phones from the Chinese manufacturer Huawei. “Our recommendation is not to buy new Chinese phones and to get rid of those already purchased as soon as possible,” Deputy Defense Minister Margaris Apokevicius told reporters when presenting the report.
Tensions between Lithuania and China
Chinese mobile phone company Xiaomi has yet to respond to a request from Reuters news agency for comment. Relations between Lithuania and China have recently deteriorated. Last month, China demanded that Lithuania withdraw its ambassador in Beijing and announced that it would recall its ambassador in Vilnius. The reason for this is that Taiwan has announced that it will name its diplomatic mission in Lithuania the “Taiwanese Representative Office”.
