Xiaomi censorship allegations may cloud its global ambitions, other Chinese smartphone vendors’ expansion plans

Germany has started investigating Xiaomi’s smartphones, following Lithuania’s findings about the censorship capabilities of the firm’s devices

The stakes are high for Xiaomi, which aims to become the world’s largest smartphone vendor in three years

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Xiaomi Corp’s MIX 4 5G smartphones are displayed at the company’s store in downtown Beijing on September 8, 2021. The company has denied allegations that users of its smartphones are being censored. Photo: Simon Song

Published: 9:30pm, 30 Sep 2021Updated: 4:32pm, 1 Oct 2021

The Lithuanian government’s recommendation that its citizens throw away Chinese smartphones, singling out devices from Xiaomi Corp for their censorship capabilities, raises a red flag for the continued business expansion of these tech companies across Europe, according to analysts.

Last week, a report by the Lithuanian defence ministry’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) alleged that Xiaomi’s Mi 10T 5G smartphone, which is widely sold in Europe, has a built-in ability to detect and censor terms such as “Free Tibet”, “Long live Taiwan independence” or “democracy movement”.

“If the issue is contained in Lithuania, then the impact is small [for Xiaomi],” said Dan Baker, senior vice-president at Morningstar Research Services. “Lithuania only has around 3 million people.”

He indicated, however, that “if other countries, or even the EU, come to similar conclusions then the impact would be more significant for Xiaomi and the other key Chinese smartphone manufacturers”.

Following the Lithuanian government’s findings, Germany’s cybersecurity watchdog the Federal Office for Information Security, known as BSI, said it has already started technical examination on a smartphone model from Xiaomi, according to a report by Reuters on Wednesday.

People are seen at the City Hall Square in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania. The Baltic nation’s defence ministry has urged citizens to get rid of Chinese smartphones, following its discovery of censorship capabilities in Xiaomi Corp’s flagship device. Photo: Shutterstock

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