Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

'Throw away your Chinese phone,' says Lithuania in new report

'Throw away your Chinese phone,' says Lithuania in new report

A report by the country's cyber security agency found that one Chinese smartphone had built-in censorship tech that could detect terms like "Free Tibet".

Lithuania's defence ministry has advised people to throw away their Chinese smartphones after a new report found that a mobile made by a major brand had built-in censorship capabilities.

Lithuania's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said on Tuesday that the Mi 10T 5G phone made by Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi was able to detect and censor phrases such as "Free Tibet," "Long live Taiwan independence" and "democracy movement".

Apps pre-installed on the phone, such as the Mi internet browser, periodically receive lists of banned words compiled by Xiaomi, the NCSC report said.

Although the functionality is disabled on phones sold in Europe, it has the potential to be activated without the user's knowledge, the NCSC said.

'Get rid of your Chinese phone'


"We found that Xiaomi phones sold in Lithuania had the content filtering function disabled and did not censor content, but censored keyword lists were still sent periodically," said NCSC head of innovation Tatuvydas Bakšys in a statement.

"The device is technically enabled to activate the functionality remotely at any time without the user’s permission and to begin censoring the downloaded content," Bakšys added.

At a presentation announcing the NCSC report, Lithuania's Vice Minister of National Defence Margiris Abukevičius told reporters that consumers should not purchase phones from Chinese manufacturers.

"Our recommendation is to not buy new Chinese phones, and to get rid of those already purchased as fast as reasonably possible," he said.

Data protection concerns


Xiaomi's built-in browser also came under fire from the Lithuanian cyber security service for gathering "excess" amounts of user data, encrypting it and sending it to a server in Singapore, where the EU's GDPR rules do not apply.

Huawei has faced resistance from governments in Europe and the US over claims its 5G infrastructure could compromise data security.


Other phones inspected by the NCSC included the Huawei P40 5G and the OnePlus 8T 5G.

Huawei's built-in app store, AppGallery, posed a security threat to users by automatically redirecting searches to third-party app stores known to host malware, the report said.

No security flaws were discovered in the OnePlus phone, the NCSC said.

Xiaomi did not respond to a Reuters news agency request for comment. A Huawei spokesperson said that the company's phones did not send user data externally.

Lithuania-China relations sour


Lithuania's relations with China have been strained in recent months after the Baltic state allowed Taiwan to open a de-facto embassy in its capital Vilnius bearing the name "Taiwan".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) told Lithuania's foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis the US stood with the Baltic state against China's "economic coercion"


That's unusual. Taiwan tends to go by the name "Chinese Taipei" in matters of international affairs to avoid enraging Beijing, which regards the island as a rebellious, breakaway province of China.

The move resulted in China recalling its ambassador to Lithuania.

Earlier this month Lithuania's ambassador to Beijing returned to Vilnius "for consultations," the country's foreign ministry said.

Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously told Euronews Next that it was keen to pursue "closer economic, trade, cultural and academic relations" with Taiwan.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States supported Lithuania in its dispute with China.

"We stand against economic coercion, including that being exerted by China. And we stand strongly for democracy, including in Belarus, where we're very much working together," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×