Ethical, Legal and Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology — AQA GCSE Computer Science

Digital technology brings huge benefits but also raises ethical, legal, environmental and privacy issues that computer scientists must consider.

Ethical issues

Technology affects society in ways that may be considered right or wrong:

Privacy — collecting and using personal data; surveillance.
The digital divide — unequal access to technology between groups and countries.
Automation — job losses versus new opportunities.
Censorship and freedom of speech online.
Impacts on health and behaviour (e.g. screen time, social media).

Legislation (laws)

You should know the purpose of these UK laws:

Data Protection Act (2018) / GDPR — controls how personal data is collected, stored and used; gives individuals rights over their data.
Computer Misuse Act (1990) — makes unauthorised access (hacking), unauthorised modification and creating malware illegal.
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988) — protects intellectual property; covers software piracy.
Software licences — including open source (source code shared and modifiable) versus proprietary/closed source software.

Environmental issues

Energy use of devices and data centres.
Manufacturing — use of raw materials and rare metals.
E-waste — disposing of old electronics; recycling and safe disposal.

Stakeholders

Different stakeholders (users, businesses, governments, society, the environment) are affected differently by technology, and their interests can conflict. Computer scientists should weigh the benefits and drawbacks when designing systems.

Exam tips

Learn the four UK laws and what each protects against.
Distinguish open source vs proprietary software.
Give balanced ethical arguments (privacy, digital divide, automation).
Discuss environmental impacts: energy, manufacturing and e-waste.