GCHQ intercepted 'intimate' Yahoo webcam images
Millions of webcam conversations were intercepted by spies, including many that involved nudity
BRITISH intelligence agents, assisted by their American counterparts, intercepted millions of private webcam conversations between people not suspected of any crime.
The latest revelations from documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden published by The Guardian yesterday reveal that between 2008 and 2010, the UK intelligence agency GCHQ conducted a wide-ranging programme called Operation Optic Nerve to collect images from Yahoo webcam chats "whether individual users were an intelligence target or not".
In a six-month period in 2008 alone, the agency intercepted images from 1.8 million people, many of which contained sexually explicit material. The agency came to recognise the collection of such images as a problem.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One document said: "Unfortunately... it would appear that a surprising number of people use webcam conversations to show intimate parts of their body to the other person."
An estimated three to 11 per cent of the images collected by GCHQ contain "undesirable nudity".
Optic Nerve aimed to identify targets by running an early version of facial-recognition software over the harvested images. GCHQ focused its operation on Yahoo webchats because a number of terrorism suspects were believed to have used the service. Facial recognition was deployed to circumvent the problem of target users logging in with multiple accounts or pseudonyms.
Yahoo issued a forceful statement decrying the agency's behaviour, which it said was "completely unacceptable".
"We were not aware of, nor would we condone, this reported activity," said a spokeswoman. "This report, if true, represents a whole new level of violation of our users' privacy that is completely unacceptable, and we strongly call on the world's governments to reform surveillance law.
"We are committed to preserving our users' trust and security and continue our efforts to expand encryption across all of our services."
A GCHQ spokesman said in a statement that the agency was unable to comment on intelligence matters, but that all activities were carried out in accordance with the law.
"Our activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate, and... there is rigorous oversight, including from the secretary of state, the interception and intelligence services commissioners and the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee," the statement said.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will voter apathy and low turnout blight the election?
Today's Big Question Belief that result is 'foregone conclusion', or that politicians can't be trusted, could exacerbate long-term turnout decline
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published