Which laws govern the use of computers and data, and what does each one cover?
Legislation relevant to computer science: the Data Protection Act 2018, the Computer Misuse Act 1990, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and software licensing (open source versus proprietary).
An OCR J277 1.6.1 answer on the key computing laws: the Data Protection Act 2018, the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and its three offences, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and the difference between open source and proprietary software licensing.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
OCR wants you to know the main laws that apply to computing and what each one covers, plus the difference between open source and proprietary software licensing. This is recall with application: you must be able to name the Act, say what it protects or makes illegal, and match a scenario to the right law. It is reliably examined on Paper 1.
The Data Protection Act 2018
The everyday relevance is that any organisation holding your details, a school, a shop, a website, must look after that data and use it only for what you agreed to. When an exam scenario involves storing customer or pupil data, this is the Act to cite.
The Computer Misuse Act 1990
The three offences increase in seriousness: simply getting in, getting in to do further harm, then actually altering or destroying data. Match the scenario carefully: guessing a friend's password and reading their messages is the first offence; spreading ransomware that encrypts files is the third.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Software licensing: open source versus proprietary
Try this
Q1. State the law that controls how organisations store and use personal data. [1 mark]
- Cue. The Data Protection Act 2018.
Q2. State the three offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. [3 marks]
- Cue. Unauthorised access; unauthorised access with intent to commit a further offence; unauthorised modification of data.
Q3. Give one advantage of open source software and one advantage of proprietary software to a user. [2 marks]
- Cue. Open source: usually free and can be modified to suit the user. Proprietary: official support and regular, tested, reliable updates.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR 20214 marksThe Computer Misuse Act 1990 makes certain actions illegal. State the three offences defined by the Act, and for one of them give an example of an action that would break it.Show worked answer →
Three offences (1 mark each, up to three): unauthorised access to computer material (level 1, the basic offence of hacking into a system you are not allowed to use); unauthorised access with intent to commit a further offence (level 2, accessing a system to steal data, commit fraud or blackmail); and unauthorised modification of computer material (level 3, changing or deleting data without permission, for example planting a virus).
Example (1 mark): for the first offence, guessing or stealing a password to log in to someone else's email account. For the third, deliberately spreading malware that encrypts a hospital's files.
Markers reward the three offences in recognisable form and a matching example; vague answers such as "hacking is illegal" do not name the distinct offences.
OCR 20224 marksExplain the difference between open source and proprietary software, giving one advantage of each to the user.Show worked answer →
Open source (up to 2): the source code is made freely available and can be viewed, modified and shared, usually free of charge (for example Linux or Firefox). Advantage to the user: it is usually free and can be adapted to their needs, and a community can fix bugs.
Proprietary (up to 2): the source code is kept secret and the software is licensed, not sold, so users may not modify or share it; they pay for a licence (for example Windows or Adobe Photoshop). Advantage to the user: it usually comes with official support, regular tested updates and a polished, reliable product.
Markers reward the source-code distinction (open and editable versus closed and licensed) and a genuine advantage for each, not just "one is free and one costs money".
Related dot points
- How to investigate and discuss computer science technologies while considering ethical, legal, cultural, environmental and privacy issues, and how to identify the stakeholders affected by a given technology.
An OCR J277 1.6.1 answer on how to investigate a digital technology against the five impact categories (ethical, legal, cultural, environmental and privacy), how to identify the stakeholders affected, and how to structure a balanced extended-response answer.
- The privacy issues raised by digital technology: what personal data is, how it is collected and used by organisations and websites, the risks to individuals, and the tension between convenience, security and privacy.
An OCR J277 1.6.1 answer on the privacy issues digital technology raises: what counts as personal data, how organisations and websites collect and use it, the risks to individuals, and the trade-off between convenience and privacy.
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An OCR J277 1.4.1 answer on the forms of attack on computer systems and networks: malware, phishing, social engineering, brute-force attacks, denial of service, data interception and theft, SQL injection, and people as the weak point.
- Methods to identify and prevent vulnerabilities: penetration testing, anti-malware software, firewalls, user access levels, passwords, encryption, physical security and network policies.
An OCR J277 1.4.2 answer on the methods used to identify and prevent vulnerabilities: penetration testing, anti-malware software, firewalls, user access levels, passwords, encryption, physical security and network policies.
- The cultural impacts of digital technology: the digital divide, changes to work and jobs through automation, the effect of social media and the internet on behaviour and society, and issues of access and inclusion.
An OCR J277 1.6.1 answer on the cultural impacts of digital technology: the digital divide and unequal access, automation and the changing job market, the effects of social media and the internet on society, and issues of inclusion.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR GCSE (9-1) Computer Science (J277) specification — OCR (2020)