Digital platforms play a critical role in Australia’s economy and society, yet our capacities to collect and analyse data from digital platforms and observe their activities is very limited. 

The next decade will see a new wave of digital transformation and many challenges in the way data, communication and digital platforms operate. Large-scale online data has the potential to substantially contribute to the capacity of business, government and the community to understand and address Australia’s major social, economic and public policy challenges.

The Australian Internet Observatory is a new, four-year national research infrastructure initiative that will create an interconnected ecosystem of people, data and tools to support innovative approaches to the collection and analysis of digital social data across a range of disciplines and sectors. It will enable researchers to explore topics  such as the distribution of misinformation, the patterns of everyday engagement with business, culture and science, flows of communication in emergencies and humanitarian crises, and the dynamics of political conflict and consensus.

The Australian Internet Observatory will develop the tools and capabilities required to gather and analyse online user experience data, algorithms, and interactions. It will support innovative approaches to the collection and analysis of digital social data and internet platforms and the analytical tools and governance required to support cutting-edge research on social, economic, health and environmental issues.