AQA GCSE Computer Science 3.8 Ethical, legal and environmental impacts: stakeholders, privacy, legislation and the environment

What area 3.8 actually demands

Ethical, legal and environmental impacts looks at the wider effect of digital technology on people, society, the law and the planet. It is examined in Paper 2 and rewards clear definitions and, especially, balanced discussion that weighs benefits against drawbacks for different stakeholders. You need to know the kinds of issue technology raises, the key UK laws, and the environmental impacts and how to reduce them.

This guide ties together the three dot-point pages for the area.

Ethical, legal and cultural issues

The area opens with the ethical (morally right or wrong), legal (what the law allows) and cultural (effect on groups in society, such as the digital divide) issues that technology raises, and the idea of a stakeholder, anyone affected by a system. Strong answers weigh how different stakeholders gain or lose, rather than giving only one side.

Privacy and legislation

Technology makes it easy to collect personal data, raising privacy concerns. Three UK laws are central: the Data Protection Act (how personal data must be collected, stored and used), the Computer Misuse Act (making unauthorised access and hacking illegal), and copyright law (protecting creators of original works including software). Know which law covers which situation.

Environmental impact

Finally, the environmental impact: high energy use by devices and data centres, the mining of finite raw materials, and the growing problem of e-waste, which can be toxic. Impacts can be reduced by energy efficiency, repairing and reusing devices, and recycling e-waste responsibly.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall and discussion questions covering area 3.8. Attempt them, then check against the solutions.

1. State what a stakeholder is. (1 mark)
2. State the difference between an ethical issue and a legal issue. (2 marks)
3. State what is meant by the digital divide. (2 marks)
4. State the purpose of the Data Protection Act. (2 marks)
5. State what the Computer Misuse Act makes illegal. (2 marks)
6. State what copyright law protects. (1 mark)
7. State two environmental impacts of digital technology. (2 marks)
8. Give one way the environmental impact of technology can be reduced. (1 mark)