Throw away Chinese phones, says this govt; Xiaomi hit by spying claim

The Defense Ministry of Lithuania has urged its citizens not to buy China made smartphones. In fact, the government wants users of Chinese smartphones to ‘throw away’ their phones. The report comes after diplomatic tension between Lithuania and China after Taiwan announced that its diplomatic mission in the Baltic nation would be called the ‘Taiwan Representative Office’.

Lithuania’s state-run cybersecurity body said on Tuesday that flagship Xiaomi phones have a built-in ability to detect and censor terms like “Free Tibet,” “Long live Taiwan independence”, or “democracy movement.” This ability is said to have been turned off for the European Union region on the Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G but it still exists nonetheless.