Putting a public service online makes it faster, cheaper and identical for everybody. It also removes the person who used to be able to see that this case was unusual.
The same service before and after, and what happens to the case the form has no box for.
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What digital government does well
- Available at any hour, which matters most to people who cannot take time off work.
- Identical for everybody, which removes a source of inconsistency that was itself unfair.
- Much cheaper to run, freeing money that a public service can spend elsewhere.
- Traceable, so what was decided and when can be examined later.
Real-world examples you can name
Estonia's internet voting — national use since 2005; over half of votes cast online by 2023
Voters authenticate with a national ID card or mobile ID and may re-vote online during the advance period, with the last vote counting and a paper ballot overriding it. Critics argue verifiability and coercion remain unsolved.
Who it affected: Estonian voters, and every state weighing convenience against verifiability.
Aadhaar, India's biometric ID system — launched 2009; Supreme Court ruling September 2018
A national identity number linked to fingerprints and iris scans, used to authenticate access to services. The Supreme Court upheld the scheme for welfare and tax purposes but struck down its use by private companies, and reporting has linked authentication failures to people being denied rations.
Who it affected: Over a billion enrolled residents, and in particular those whose fingerprints scan poorly — manual labourers and older people.
Learn what examiners really want
See exactly what to write to score full marks. Our AI shows you model answers and the key phrases examiners look for.
| Who | What they get | What they lose |
|---|---|---|
| Most users | Faster, any hour, no travel | Very little |
| People without a device or skills | Nothing | Access to the service entirely |
| Unusual cases | A form with no box for them | The official who could make an exception |
| The service itself | Lower cost | The judgement of the person at the counter |
Why this matters more than it sounds: In Aadhaar, India's biometric ID system (India, launched 2009; Supreme Court ruling September 2018) a fingerprint that scans badly can mean a person cannot collect food they are entitled to.
The system works for almost everybody, and “almost” is doing a great deal of work in that sentence.
How this is tested — government services are a common source topic and the marks are in who is excluded and what replaced the exception. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 — structured question
- Part c: evaluate a digital public service
- Part b: explain who a digital service excludes
Paper 2 — source-based question
- Q4: synthesise sources on digital identity or benefits
- HL Paper 3: recommend, including a route to a person
The trap: efficiency only: Say who cannot use it and what happens to the case the form has no box for. Those two questions are most of the mark scheme.
Explain one reason why moving a public service online can disadvantage some people.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Evaluate a national digital identity system.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.