China spy phones get smart

Lithuania has told its public servants to jettison their Chinese-made smartphones after they were found to contain automatic censorship software and other security flaws.

One popular handset from Xiaomi, a Chinese company that sells more smartphones in the EU than any other maker, was found to be capable of detecting and blanking out the terms “Free Tibet”, “democratic movement” and “Long live Taiwan’s independence”.

It was also sending personal information about its owners’ activities, including how long they spent using different apps, to a proprietary server in Singapore, beyond the reach of the EU’S strict data laws.

The Baltic state established informal diplomatic relations with Taiwan last month. In response, China recalled its ambassador and accused the government of “severely undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. It has also suspended freight links and imposed a trade embargo.