US athletes told to use burner phones at Beijing Winter Olympics

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US athletes have been told not to bring their phones to the Winter Olympics.

The photo was taken by Yu Zhiqiang.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the United States Olympic and Paralympian Committee is telling athletes to ditch their personal phones in order to burn calories during the Winter Olympics in China.

Every device, communication, transaction and online activity may be monitored.

Athletes in China were warned about the possibility of digital snooping last year. The bulletin states that every device, communication, transaction and online activity may be monitored. It is possible that your device(s) could be compromised with malicious software, which could negatively impact future use. According to the WSJ, Great Britain, Canada, and the Netherlands have warned athletes against bringing electronics into the country.

The Committee has fears. China was found to be secretly installing spy ware on tourists' phones. The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group that has been subjected to imprisonment and torture in China. Citizen Lab found that China's My2022 Olympic app, which all attendees are required to install, is full of security holes that could lead to privacy breeches, surveillance, and hacking.

When Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, the US Department of Homeland Security issued a similar advisory for travelers headed to China, warning of unauthorized access and theft of data by criminal or foreign government elements. China has banned foreign spectators due to concerns over COVID-19. Athletes will likely use their mobile devices to stay in touch with friends and family, which could be more complicated on a burner phone that comes with limits on mobile data, texting, and calling.

Even if the athletes want to use their burner phones to browse the internet, they might not get unlimited access. During the 2008 Olympics, China promised to give spectators, journalists, and athletes unrestricted access to the web, since The Great Firewall of China currently blocks a number of popular websites in the country. China did not seem to follow through on its promise. Some websites, including the site for the human rights organization, were not accessible to journalists.

It is unclear if the country will still block certain sites after it was once again said it will give athletes and journalists uncensored access to the internet.