Margiris Abukevicius, Deputy Minister of Defense of Lithuania, said that after discovering that a Chinese smartphone company’s flagship mobile phone had a censorship function, the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania was drafting legislation to prohibit state agencies from buying “untrusted” devices.
The country’s National Cyber Security Center stated in a report on Tuesday that the review function of the Xiaomi 10T 5G mobile phone software has been disabled for the “EU region”, but it can be turned on remotely at any time.
A Xiaomi spokesperson said in a statement sent to Reuters on Wednesday that its devices “will not censor communications with users.”
Abukevicius told Reuters that the Ministry of Defense is drafting legislation to prohibit public agencies from purchasing “untrusted” devices, including smartphones, with a view to submitting them to parliament for debate before the end of this year.
“It is clear that the consequences of this legislation will be similar to the earlier 5G equipment legislation,” he said.
Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei protested in May after the Lithuanian Parliament ordered that only equipment approved by the government on national security grounds can be used in the country’s next-generation 5G network.
“Lithuania has made the political decision to conduct technical cooperation with the democratic and rule-of-law NATO and EU countries. This is not news anymore,” Abukvicius said.
A report from the National Cyber Security Center stated that terms that may be censored by Xiaomi’s mobile phone system applications, such as the default Internet browser, include “Tibet Freedom”, “Long Live Taiwan Independence” and “Democracy Movement”.
Xiaomi’s stock price fell nearly 5% to 21.95 Hong Kong dollars (about 200 rupees) on Wednesday, which was the largest single-day percentage drop since July 27.
After Taiwan announced that its mission in Lithuania would be called the Taiwan representative office, China last month asked Lithuania to withdraw its ambassador to Beijing and recall its ambassador to Vilnius.
Taiwan’s missions in Europe and the United States use the name Taipei City and avoid mentioning the island itself, which China claims is its own territory.
Jack Sullivan, the national security adviser to US President Joe Biden, emphasized last week that in the face of pressure from China, he must support Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrid Simeone.
News Source : Backtrack
