Everybody Chill Out: In Defense of Peter Thiel Backing Gawker Lawsuits
Over the last few days the internet has been freaking out after discovering that Peter Thiel financially backed Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker. If you aren’t already familiar with the story, Gawker publicly outed Theil in 2009 and his critics would now have you believe that he then launched a decade-long personal revenge plot, secretly funding lawsuits against Gawker in a concentrated effort to take them down. And that’s mostly true, though heavily exaggerated. My question is: who cares if Thiel had a personal vendetta with Gawker? Did you forget that Gawker was found guilty of invasion of privacy, publication of private facts, violation of publicity rights, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress in the Hulk Hogan lawsuit? There is nothing Peter Thiel, or anyone else, could’ve done for any dollar amount to take down Gawker without Gawker first breaking the law. As Eugene Kontorovich wrote in a Washington Post opinion “it is not enough that litigation be financed. A court must also find the defendant liable, award damages and have it sustained on appeal.” In other words, if Gawker hadn’t broken the law, Thiel couldn’t have financed their ruin. Gawker did this to themselves, and justice was served. You don’t need to worry about millionaires taking out any media outlets, so long as those outlets act within the confines of the law. Thiel was opportunistic in recognizing that Gawker was vulnerable, but that doesn’t make what he did wrong. This is far from the first time a millionaire has funded someone else’s lawsuit. Third-party legal financing is the same mechanism that enables us to donate to organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU, both of whom seek clients that enable them to advance their policy agenda.
I am shocked that people, including Nate Silvers, seem to think this is grounds for Facebook to remove Thiel from their Board of Directors. Chill out, people.
TL;DR: I don’t have a problem with suing people who break the law.
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