Lithuanian intelligence services say Xiaomi can remotely enable censorship on its smartphones

Lithuanian intelligence services published a report that Xiaomi may remotely detect content that should be censored and hide it in some models of its smartphones. As part of their own investigation, Lithuanian regulators tested the Mi 10T smartphone with MIUI Global 12.0.10 QJDEUXM (Android 10 QKQ.200419.0P2) firmware installed.

The report says that some apps embedded in the Mi 10T's branded UI, including Mi Browser, Cleaner, MIUI Package Installer, Information Security Utility, Themes Manager, Music Player and Downloads Manager, connect to the Xiaomi server in Singapore, which in turn sends them a JSON file called MiAdBlacklistConfig with a list of banned words and phrases. The topics censored are China's independence, liberation of Tibet, etc., for a total of 449 banned word combinations.

By recognizing keywords, the firmware can block banned content. The report says the feature is disabled by default on Xiaomi smartphones sold in Lithuania and the European Union, but the Chinese manufacturer can remotely enable it. Presumably, this technology is intended for China.

Source: androidauthority, reuters