The Ethics of Online Exams: Designing Proportionate Security Controls

In this opinion piece, Synap founder Dr James Gupta argues that piling on surveillance does not automatically make an online exam more trustworthy, and can instead erode candidate confidence, raise accessibility issues and invite legal challenge. He makes the case for proportionate controls that scale to the stakes of each assessment, embedding integrity into exam design and following privacy-by-design principles. The article reflects Synap's position that credible digital assessment depends on transparency and appropriate governance rather than maximum monitoring.