Xiaomi has spoken out about allegations that its phones could censor searches with certain keywords in Lithuania.
The phone in question is the Mi 10T 5G, which according to the Lithuanian Cyber Security Agency has an integrated system that can detect and censor keywords such as 'Free Tibet', 'Long live Taiwan independence', or 'democracy movement'.
According to them, this feature has actually been turned off in the European Union, but can be turned on remotely at any time.
However, according to Xiaomi, his device has never and will not censor communications made by its users, either from or to the device he made.
"Xiaomi will never limit or block the activities of our mobile phone users, such as searching, calling, browsing, or using third-party communication software," Xiaomi said in a statement.
"Xiaomi really respects and protects the legal rights of all its users," he added.
In addition, Xiaomi also responded to accusations that Xiaomi phones sent encrypted data from their cellphones to servers located in Singapore, which were said to violate data protection rules in Europe.
"We comply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation," explained Xiaomi.
Previously reported, the Lithuanian government said the system on Xiaomi phones has a sensor list containing 449 keywords in Chinese and is constantly being updated. The system also includes the keywords entered into the browser.
"This is important not only for Lithuania but for all countries that use Xiaomi equipment," the National Cyber Security Center said in its report.
The Lithuanian government's appeal seems to have been influenced by the unstable relations between the two countries. Last month, China asked Lithuania to withdraw their ambassador in Beijing and threatened to withdraw their representation in Vilnius after Taiwan announced that their representative in Lithuania would carry the name of the Taiwanese Representation Office.
