Legislation is enacted by Government to protect people from the harmful effects of ICT. You should be aware of legislation that covers working with ICT, including:

• Data Protection Act (1998)
  
• Computer Misuse Act (1990)
  
• Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1989)
  
• Health and Safety at Work Act (1974)
  
• Health and Safety Regulations (1992)
  
• Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000).

You do not need to know the detail of the Acts or regulations, but you should understand the reasons for their introduction. You should understand who is affected by the legislation, what protection it offers and what aspect of using ICT is affected. You should also be aware of EU regulations on the use of computers and the Internet Code of Practice.

You should be aware that ICT has delivered many benefits, but that it has also created opportunities, for example, for:

• international fraud
  
• the misuse of personal information
  
• intrusion such as 'spam', chat rooms, viruses.

describe all relevant legislation and why it was introduced, and an evaluation of the extent to which it protects people and groups from the misuse of ICT.

investigate how legislation affects people's use of ICT as part of the investigations outlined above. Issues include software licensing, copyright, pornography, and file exchange. Further, students need to investigate the impact of legislation on organisations use of ICT eg administration and operation of networks, e-mail as well as the more obvious health and safety issues.

(e) the legislation protecting people and groups (11 marks)
Please note - this need not be a separate section, and evidence may be found throughout the portfolio.

Mark band 1
Characterised by lists and simple but relevant statements. (1-5 marks)

• legislation is likely to be referred to by its title, with a broadly accurate indication of how it protects people or groups - 'The Data Protection Act means that somebody cannot store someone else's personal information without a good reason.'
  
• there is no credit for stating the legislation - there must be an indication of its purpose
  
• in this band, the response could be point marked - one mark for each item of legislation linked to a person group and its purpose indicated. It is possible to double credit an item of legislation if a different purpose is identified, but not if the same purpose is applied to different groups.

Mark band 2
Characterised by an identification of the legislation which is most relevant, and some
idea of why it was introduced. (6-8 marks)