3.8 - Privacy, security and digital society

Ethical, legal, environmental and privacy reasoning

An impact becomes meaningful when you explain who is affected and how a technology changes their situation.

Ethical issues concern what is fair or morally acceptable, such as whether a person is pressured into sharing data. Legal issues concern compliance with applicable law, such as whether access is authorised or personal information is processed lawfully. An action being technically possible does not make it lawful; an action meeting legal requirements can still raise ethical questions. Environmental issues concern effects such as energy use, extraction of materials and electronic waste. Privacy concerns people's control over and exposure of information about their lives.

Use a reasoning chain: feature → consequence → affected group → significance. “The app collects location” is a feature. “The company can reconstruct a user's journeys, revealing visits the user considers private” explains a privacy consequence. “Users may not realise this when accepting a vague notice” adds an ethical concern about informed choice.

Worked example. A council provides a digital reporting service. Residents can report broken street lights quickly, so the council can prioritise repairs and residents may feel safer. People without a suitable device or connection may struggle to use it, so retaining a non-digital route supports fair access. Keeping every report and location forever increases storage and privacy risks; retaining only information genuinely needed can reduce exposure. Servers use electricity and devices require materials, although digital reports may reduce paper use and unnecessary journeys. These effects can coexist.

You are expected to apply general principles to the supplied context. You do not need detailed knowledge of one current controversy. A discussion should develop relevant benefits and harms rather than label every change “good” or “bad”. If a task asks for a judgement, justify it using the consequences you have explained; a particular opinion is not compulsory.

Security and access to private data

Protecting people from harm and respecting their privacy can place competing demands on access to data.

Cyber security protects private records and services against attack, damage and unauthorised access. Encryption, access rights and other measures can reduce exposure. Hacking, in this context, means unauthorised access to a computer system. Reading a confidential database without permission raises legal and privacy issues even if the intruder does not alter any record. Authorised penetration testing has a different permission basis and can help repair weaknesses.

Security services and governments may argue that access to communications or other private data helps investigate terrorism and prevent attacks. For example, identifying links between suspected attackers could protect the public. Ordinary citizens often value privacy and may object to extensive access, particularly when the data reveals innocent people's associations, beliefs or activities. A large store of collected data also creates a target for misuse or theft.