Power is a person’s or group’s capacity to influence or control the actions of others. In IB Digital Society, power is also structural, embedded within institutions, organizations, governments, and digital systems, and it is not equally distributed.
This concept is shared by SL and HL students under topic 2.4 Power. It helps students investigate who controls resources, makes decisions, shapes behaviour, or challenges authority.
How Power Operates
Digital systems can redistribute power by controlling access to data, information, visibility, and decision-making. Governments, platforms, developers, users, communities, and non-users may possess different degrees and forms of influence.
| Source of power | How it operates |
|---|---|
| Control of data | Organizations collect, analyse, sell, or restrict access to personal data. |
| Algorithmic control | Designers set objectives and rules affecting recommendations, rankings, and automated decisions. |
| Platform governance | Companies establish and enforce rules governing expression, participation, and access. |
| Collective action | Communities organize campaigns, challenge institutions, or create alternative digital spaces. |
A common misconception is that power means only formal authority. Power can also operate indirectly: a recommendation system may influence what users notice, believe, or purchase without issuing explicit commands.
Cambridge Analytica Example
System: Facebook collected and processed user data, while algorithms enabled targeted political advertising.
Example specifics: In 2018, reporting revealed that Cambridge Analytica had obtained data connected to millions of Facebook users through a personality-test application. The data supported political profiling and targeted campaigning.
Impacts and implications: Users lost control over how their data was used, while political organizations gained targeting power. The case created risks involving manipulation, privacy, and unequal access to voter data, while strengthening demands for regulation and transparency.
Conceptual significance: Informational and political influence became concentrated in platforms and organizations, while affected users possessed less knowledge and control.
Exam Technique
For an explain question, identify who holds power and show how the digital system enables that influence. For discuss or evaluate, consider competing stakeholders, unequal relationships, counter-claims, and how the system both enables and constrains people and communities.
