The government of India is reportedly seeking clarifications on the software and hardware used as components in these devices
The government of India, lead by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has sent notifications to Chinese handset brands and manufacturers. Vivo, Oppo, OnePlus and Xiaomi are the main companies in question here.
The government has asked these organizations about the components used in the devices, as well as about what happens to the data that these devices generate. It is worth mentioning here that Chinese smartphone brands account for more than half of the smartphones sold in India.
It is expected that the government, after receiving the clarifications from these brands, will ask for manatory testing of the devices in Indian labs. The government had banned more than 200 Chinese apps last year in India.
The Government of Lithuania, in September 2021, had urged its citizens to throw away Chinese smartphones. It had also requested the citizens to not buy Chinese smartphones as well.
Flagship phones sold in Europe by China’s smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp (1810.HK) have a built-in ability to detect and censor terms such as “Free Tibet”, “Long live Taiwan independence” or “democracy movement”, Lithuania’s state-run cybersecurity body had said.
“Our recommendation is to not buy new Chinese phones, and to get rid of those already purchased as fast as reasonably possible,” Defence Deputy Minister Margiris Abukevicius had told the reporters.
