The Australian Internet Observatory has spent the last eighteen months pushing forward a bold proposition: that researchers across the humanities and social sciences should have access to reliable and ethically governed observability of the digital platforms shaping public life. At the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons Symposium 2025, the AIO team presented not only the results of this work, but the story of how it was built.

Workshop: Studying Digital Vulnerabilities through Data Donation with A/Prof Joanna Strycharz

This interactive workshop explores how scholars can study digital vulnerabilities in the context of advertising and branded communication.

Join ARDC or a 2-day showcase of HASS and Indigenous RDC research infrastructure and future visions and Australian Academy of the Humanities (AAH)

New opportunity to contribute towards the citizen science project at AIO.

It has been slightly more than a year since the Australian Internet Observatory (AIO) began its mission to build research infrastructure that can support the independent, ethical, and large-scale study of digital platforms. In that time, we have focused on developing technical tools, collaborative research models, and international partnerships, laying the groundwork for a more transparent and accountable digital environment.

As we continue, we are excited to share an update on our journey, including new tools, research outcomes, outreach, engagement, and our incredible team that makes it all possible.

The Australian Internet Observatory congratulates Dr Thao Phan on receiving the 2025 Max Crawford Medal. The medal recognises Dr Phan’s groundbreaking research into how digital platforms algorithmically classify and sort users—often in ways that reinforce racial and gendered inequalities. She will be formally presented with the Max Crawford Medal at the Academy’s Annual Dinner in Sydney on Thursday 13 November 2025.

Whilst major platforms like FaceBook, Instagram and X/Twitter no longer provide programmatic access to their data, a key highlight of AIReD is the rapid increase in activity for BlueSky, which has now surpassed 76 million recorded interactions often with over 500k posts made every day across Australia. These numbers are updated continuously, providing a near real-time view of the information flow across the Australian social media landscape.

Queensland University of Technology partner lead, Professor Daniel Angus, is currently spending time as a visiting fellow at GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences in Germany. During his visit, Daniel has already contributed to a workshop on data quality hosted by the KODAQS team, collaborating alongside colleagues from Toronto Metropolitan University’s Social Media Lab.

AIO is seeking a Program Manager to lead the delivery of a national research infrastructure program based at RMIT’s Melbourne CBD campus. This full-time, fixed-term role (till June 2028) offers HEW 9 salary + 17% superannuation and flexible working arrangements. The position will oversee project planning, governance, stakeholder engagement, and technical delivery across six partner universities.