This article considers the constitutional implications of US President Donald Trump’s use of Twitter. This issue arose in the recent case of Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University v Trump, where a US federal court considered for the first time whether Trump’s actions in blocking users from his personal Twitter account violated the First Amendment to the US Constitution. In exploring the US court’s treatment of this question, the article will consider the challenges that arise in applying established free speech doctrine to newly emerging technologies, concluding with some reflections from an Australian perspective.
This article explores the potential role of US free speech doctrine as a source of learning for the High Court in developing its own jurisprudence in a broadly analogous area – the Australian (implied) freedom of political communication. The author argues in favour of a critical and self-reflective approach to this question, where the comparative utility of foreign doctrine is assessed by reference to its use in advancing Australian-specific constitutional commitments and inquiries. The article concludes with a brief worked account of how this might be applied to ‘structural' versus ‘autonomy' driven US doctrine.
This article critically assesses a key question raised repeatedly during the tenure of US President Donald Trump – could (or should) the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution have been invoked to suspend him from office? Although moot in a practical sense following the 2020 US presidential election, exploring this question from an Australian perspective provides the opportunity to reflect on fundamental questions of constitutional design and the capacity of our own democratic institutions to respond when tested. The article suggests that the US experience with President Trump highlights some advantages offered by Australia’s parliamentary system.
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