Legal, Moral, Cultural and Ethical Issues
Legal, moral, cultural and ethical issues is the A Level Computer Science topic covering the laws and professional standards that govern computer use in the UK, such as the Computer Misuse Act, Data Protection Act and Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, alongside debates about privacy, surveillance, bias and the environmental impact of computing. It is part of the Component 1 Computer Systems paper.
Before you start
No specific prerequisites - this is a good place to start.
Method
- Learn the name, year and main purpose of each key UK Act (Computer Misuse Act 1990, Data Protection Act 2018/UK GDPR, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Freedom of Information Act 2000, Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000).
- For a given scenario, identify which specific offence or principle under an Act applies, rather than just naming the Act in general.
- Separate legal issues (what the law requires) from moral/ethical issues (what is right or wrong, which may not be illegal), and be ready to discuss both for the same scenario.
- Practise structured 'discuss' and 'evaluate' answers by giving a point for one side, a point for the other side, and a justified conclusion linked to the specific scenario.
- Learn how algorithmic bias can arise from historical training data, and link this to relevant equality/discrimination law where appropriate.
- Learn simple energy/environmental calculations (e.g. power in watts, energy in kWh) that may be combined with a discussion of the environmental impact of computing.
Worked example
A data centre runs 500 servers, each drawing 400 watts of power continuously. Calculate the total energy used by all 500 servers in one day, giving your answer in kWh.
- Calculate the power used by all servers together: 500 x 400 = 200000 watts = 200 kW.
- Calculate the energy used in one day (24 hours) by multiplying power (in kW) by time (in hours): 200 kW x 24 hours.
- Calculate the result: 200 x 24 = 4800.
- Final answer: 4800 kWh.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a A Level Computer Science exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
A student uses a memorised password to look at, but not change, their own predicted grades on a school system before the grades are released, without permission. Identify which offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 applies, and justify your answer.
A logistics company installs software on staff computers that records every keystroke and takes a screenshot every five minutes, without telling staff. Identify one Act relevant to this scenario, and discuss one moral argument for and one moral argument against this kind of workplace monitoring.
A bank deploys an AI system that automatically flags certain mortgage applications as high risk, and the flagged applications disproportionately involve applicants from particular ethnic backgrounds. Discuss the ethical responsibilities of the bank and of the individual computer professionals who build and maintain the system, and evaluate whether relying on individual professionals alone is enough to prevent unfair outcomes.
Free printable worksheet
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