Networks Are a Lens for Power: A Commentary on the Recent Advances in the Ethics of Social Networks Special Issue

Argues that networks are not merely analytical tools but systematizing devices with power in their own right. Facebook, X, and LinkedIn are all networks of data representing people, and the critical question is not only "what can networks tell us?" but also "do the networks constrain us?"

Argues that with advances in modelling and visualisation, we should ask not only what the networks can tell us, but whether the networks constrain us and our communication. Networks are both lens and cage, as they reveal social structure while simultaneously imposing structure on what can be seen.