A program called Optic Nerve intercepted and stored webcam images of millions of Yahoo (YHOO) users regardless of whether or not they were intelligence targets.
British surveillance agency GCHQ ran Optic Nerve which has webcam images of millions of Yahoo user accounts globally taken between 2008 and 2010. In a six-month period in 2008, the agency took images from over 1.8 million accounts including many sexually explicit images.
There are no UK laws that prevent GCHQ or other British analysts from accessing Americans’ images without a warrant. When asked about Optic Nerve, Yahoo denied any knowledge of the program.
The tech company accused GCHQ of reaching a “whole new level of violation of our users’ privacy.”
YHOO stock is up over 2% Thursday.
More Government News
- NSA Leaks: The Debate Over Clemency for Edward Snowden Grows
- Google ‘Outraged’ By NSA Snooping
- Is the NSA Hurting American Tech Companies
Want to share your own views on money and politics? Drop us a line at letters@investorplace.com and we might reprint your views in our InvestorPolitics blog! Please include your name, city and state of residence. All letters submitted to this address will be considered for publication.
