#QuickExplainer: Here’s Why Lithuania Wants Its Citizens To Throw Away Chinese Phones
The relationship between Lithuania and China continues to soar. How did both countries get here?
What Happened?
On Tuesday, Lithuania’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said that the Mi 10T 5G phone made by Xiaomi, a Chinese manufacturer, was able to detect and censor phrases like “Free Tibet,” “Long live Taiwan independence” and “democracy movement”. The NCSC report added that the apps pre-installed on the phone, such as the Mi internet browser, periodically receive lists of banned words compiled by Xiaomi.
The NCSC also said, although the functionality is disabled on phones sold in Europe, it has the potential to be activated without the user’s knowledge. During a presentation announcing the NCSC report, Lithuania’s Vice Minister of National Defence Margiris Abukevičius told reporters that, as mentioned by Euronews Next, consumers should not purchase phones from Chinese manufacturers.
The Lithuanian cybersecurity service also warned about Xiaomi’s built-in browser, saying that the browser is gathering “excess” amounts of user data, encrypting it and sending it to a server in Singapore. The European Union’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) rules do not apply in Singapore.
After this report, Lithuania’s defense ministry advised people to throw away their Chinese smartphones. Defence Deputy Minister Margiris Abukevicius said, as mentioned by BBC, “Our recommendation is to not buy new Chinese phones, and to get rid of those already purchased as fast as reasonably possible.”
The Response
On Wednesday, Xiaomi said that its devices do not censor user’s communications. In a statement sent to Reuters, the company said, “Xiaomi has never and will never restrict or block any personal behaviours of our smartphone users, such as searching, calling, web browsing or the use of third-party communication software.”
The statement also said, “Xiaomi fully respects and protects the legal rights of all users.” The company’s spokesman stated, as mentioned by South China Morning Post, “Xiaomi complies with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.”
Rising Tensions
This report comes at a time when relations between Lithuania and China are on the rocks. Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a de-facto embassy in its capital Vilnius bearing the name “Taiwan”. This is unusual because 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. After this move, China demanded that Lithuania withdraw its ambassador in Beijing.
The dispute between both the countries has even gone beyond the borders. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, as mentioned by Euronews Next, the United States supports Lithuania in its dispute with China. Blinken added, “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.”
Zooming Out
Lithuania has shared the report with the cybersecurity officials from the other European Union nations, and the United States. Since the U.S. already has a strained relationship with China, it is anticipated that the former would take this report seriously as well. Also, Lithuania has asked for European Unity in the face of Chinese retaliation. Hence, we can anticipate the U.S. and the EU nations to keep a close watch on Xiaomi, and they might conduct their own investigations into the Chinese company.
At the end of the day, this may result in China putting pressure on Lithuania, thus further straining the relationship between both the countries. However, we have to wait and see how China responds to this report, and how it retaliates to Lithuania’s moves. We also have to see whether the U.S. as well as the EU nations form an alliance against China to protect people’s right to free speech as well as their data.
