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OCR H446 1.5.2 Piracy and offensive communication

Part 6 of 9 · H446 1.5.2 · Moral and ethical issues

Copying without permission and communicating harm are different wrongs, and OCR H446 1.5.2 answers lose marks when the two are merged. This worksheet keeps them apart as separate tests, then asks students to support legal and moral conclusions with their own distinct evidence.

Students will:

  • distinguish a question of permission to copy from a question of harmful communication
  • explain why a small private audience does not create permission
  • show why permission to use material does not excuse the message attached to it
  • analyse how one incident affects a creator, users, a platform and public discussion differently
  • evaluate an automatic blocking proposal and recommend a better approach

Inside: 5 explanation cells, 1 multiple-choice question, 2 fill-in-the-blanks cells and 2 written answers. 26 marks, about 20 to 40 minutes.

Series: H446 1.5.2 · Moral and ethical issues, part 6 of 9.

Shared by Coding PathwayVerified teacher

  • 10 cells
  • About 30 minutes
  • CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Shared 31 Aug 2026
  • Updated 3 Sept 2026

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The whole resource, exactly as a class sees it. Answers and marking are held back.

Piracy and offensive communication

This worksheet separates two issues that can appear in the same scenario: piracy and harmful communication. Ask whether a person had permission to copy or share a work, and separately whether a message caused harm. Legal and moral judgements also require separate evidence.

Permission and harm are different questions

Permission and harm are separate testspermission, harm and legality are different questionspermission to copy/useno permission to copy/uselow communication harmhigh communication harmlicensed tutorialpermitted use; low harmlicensed abusive postpermission to usemessage may still cause harmunlicensed quiet copycommunication harm may be lowcopy still has no permissionpirated abusive uploadboth issues apply

Piracy may reduce a creator’s income or control, affect markets and expose users to unsafe files. Users may raise issues of cost, access or preservation, but these do not automatically create permission. Offensive communication may cause fear, harassment, exclusion or damage to reputation. However, rules that are too broad may also block satire, disagreement or minority voices. Before judging a message, consider its audience, context, purpose, reach and likely harm.

Worked comparison

A student privately shares an unlicensed paid game with friends. The small audience does not give the student permission to copy it.

Another student posts a political cartoon that they are allowed to use, but adds a hostile caption aimed at a classmate. Permission to use the image does not remove the possible harm caused by the message.

One case can raise both permission and communication concerns, but each needs its own evidence.

Multiple choice1 mark

Which statement is accurate?

  • ACrediting the creator gives a user permission to copy and share any version of the work
  • BPermission to use a work and harm caused by an attached message must be judged separately
  • CA platform should not review a harmful message when the image attached to it is licensed
  • DSharing an unlicensed copy privately removes any possible effect on the rights holder
Fill in the blanks4 marks
When considering piracy, ask who owns the rights and whether the use has gap 1. Analysis of offensive communication considers the speaker, gap 2, context, reach and likely gap 3. A moral concern is not automatically proof of gap 4.
  • permission
  • audience
  • harm
  • illegality
  • bandwidth
Written answer8 marks

A channel reposts a musician’s paid recordings without permission. It also tells followers to threaten the musician. Explain four different effects of these actions.

Separate the unauthorised copying from the threatening messages. Include effects on the musician and at least one other group, such as users or the platform.

Students type their answer here.

Apply the ideas independently

The next task combines copying and communication rules. Judge permission and harm separately before reaching a conclusion.

Written answer9 marks

A platform proposes blocking every remix and every message containing a word from a ‘hostile’ list. Discuss whether this is a suitable policy.

Use details from the scenario. Consider creators, permitted uses, context, people targeted by abuse, errors and appeals. Suggest a better approach and finish with a supported conclusion.

Students type their answer here.

Fill in the blanks4 marks
Copying a protected work normally requires checkpoint gap 1. A harmful message must be judged using its audience and checkpoint gap 2. A moral concern is not automatically proof of checkpoint gap 3, and a licence to use an image does not make an attached message checkpoint gap 4.

Review your responses

Check that you treated permission, communication harm, legal rules and moral judgement as separate questions supported by the scenario facts.