London ( CNN ) -- Yahoo is slamming as `` completely unacceptable '' a British agency 's alleged collection of digital images while eavesdropping on webcam chats , a spokesperson for the Internet search engine said Thursday . And Yahoo says if the electronic spying took place , the online mainstay had nothing to do with it . `` We are not aware nor would we condone this reported activity , '' the spokesperson said following a published report by the UK-based Guardian newspaper that Britain 's Government Communications Headquarters , known as GCHQ , spied on people using Yahoo webcam chats , whether or not those users were investigative targets . According to the Guardian report , which cites documents leaked by former National Security Agency intelligence contractor Edward Snowden , the GCHQ collected the images under a program known as `` Optic Nerve . '' The documents show , according to the Guardian , that the GCHQ -- with reported aid from the U.S. National Security Agency -- intercepted and stored the webcam images of millions of Internet users . If the report is true , it is `` completely unacceptable , '' the Yahoo spokesperson said . The mass collection of digital images of Yahoo users began because GCHQ targets were known to use the search engine 's webcam , the documents said , according to the Guardian . During a six-month stretch in 2008 , the GCHQ allegedly collected images from webcam chats from 1.8 million Yahoo users globally , the newspaper reported . The still images were allegedly collected at five ` -minute intervals during the chats . One document , according to the Guardian , compared the collection of digital images to that of a massive digital police mugshot book . GCHQ declined to speak to the allegations , citing a longstanding policy that it does not comment on intelligence matters . `` Furthermore , all of GCHQ 's work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework , which ensures that our activities are authorized , necessary and proportionate , and that there is rigorous oversight , '' according to a statement released by the agency 's press office . GCHQ is not bound by the same rules that seek to limit the NSA collection of information on its citizens . However , according to the Guardian , there are additional legal authorizations required before the agency can search for data on suspected targets in believed to be in Britain . According to the documents , there was no mechanism in place to block the collection of data on U.S. and U.K. citizens , the Guardian reported . The leaked documents also allegedly provided insight into how the spy agency grappled with how to deal with the pornography it encountered in webcam chats . `` Unfortunately , it would appear that a surprising number of people use webcam conversations to show intimate part of their body to the other person , '' one document said , according to the Guardian . The GCHQ estimated that up to 11 % of the digital images it collected from the webcam chats were explicit , the Guardian reported , citing the leaked documents . As a result , the GCHQ allegedly warned its analysts that some of the material collected may be offensive . `` User who feel uncomfortable about such material are advised not to open them , '' one document said , according to the Guardian . CNN 's Joe Sutton contributed to this report .
` ` We are not aware nor would we support this reported activity , '' a Yahoo source says . A British agency ollected digital images of online chats , the Guardian reports . The agency collected images of people whether or not they were targets , the news agency says . The report was based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden , the Guardian says .