Australian researchers now have a new self-service research infrastructure platform to study the digital platforms shaping everyday life, following the launch of a national platform developed by the Australian Internet Observatory (AIO).
The platform is intended to support research into major digital services including TikTok, Instagram, ChatGPT, Netflix, Facebook and Spotify, by enabling researchers at Australian universities to create and manage projects that examine platform activity and impacts.
The AIO is led by RMIT University and the Australian Research Data Commons, and works with partner universities in Victoria and Queensland to provide national research infrastructure focused on digital-platform observability.
Targeted at humanities and social sciences researchers, including those without advanced programming skills, the platform initially supports “data donation” research using Data Download Packages—personal data archives that can be requested from social media, streaming and other digital services.
The release said that, with informed consent, donated records could be used to explore research questions that may not be fully addressed through surveys, interviews, platform application programming interfaces, or publicly visible content.
The AIO said projects involving human participants or donated personal data still require institutional ethics approval before data collection begins, which it described as part of an “ethics-first” approach.
Potential research areas flagged for the platform include the digital content Australians consume, advertising and sponsored content, digital footprints, and the influence of digital services on culture, health, education and public debate.
RMIT Distinguished Professor and AIO Director Julian Thomas said the platform aimed to reduce practical barriers that can delay or limit research into digital services. “Researchers often need to build their own technical systems before they can begin answering the questions they are interested in,” Thomas said. “That can be expensive, time-consuming and out of reach for smaller teams or researchers without specialist technical expertise.”
University of Queensland Professor and AIO Deputy Director Nicholas Carah said Australia’s social media minimum-age restrictions had increased demand for independent evidence about how platform use and experiences are changing.
Professor Daniel Angus, QUT AIO Partner Lead, said data donation research could provide insights into usage patterns and how platforms shape experiences, but stressed the need for consent-based access, clarity about what data is sought, and collecting only what an approved study requires.
Jenny Fewster, Director of HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons at the Australian Research Data Commons, said the AIO was intended to help researchers and the broader public understand the impact of platforms and algorithms on society, describing it as national research infrastructure that makes online interactions more accessible for research.
The Australian Internet Observatory was established in 2024. The release said it is a co-investment partnership with the Australian Research Data Commons through the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons, and that the ARDC is enabled by the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.
