![]() ![]() Granted, Gawker is not everyone’s cup of tea. But it is quite different here, and an abuse of the court system. We have seen this type of litigation and harsh judgments used to silence the press during the Cold War, the Civil Rights movement, even the early days of the post-American Revolution. Using the law, and civil judgments to exact revenge on the media is nothing new. There certainly is a role under the law to protect the privacy of individuals, but private people and very public figures are two distinct categories. Lawfully obtained information that may be the result of someone else’s lawbreaking is still protected under the First Amendment. The law is pretty clear that the media is legally protected from liability for information that may be the result in someone else’s breach of the law. This was not a sympathetic plaintiff who came to court with clean hands. Gawker received the recording and made some snarky comments about a very public plaintiff and the semi-public wife of his very public friend. There was no evidence that Gawker played any role in secretly or surreptitiously recording the incident. ![]() ![]() It is also troubling that the plaintiff’s litigation was secretly financed by someone with deep pockets and an axe to grind with Gawker. There were plenty of factual questions about what happened here that the jury seems to ignore. Tort damages, even punitive damages, must be related to a level of harm, and these damages far exceeded any harm incurred by the plaintiff, especially when he had previously publicly spoken about similar private matters. #Gawker out of business free#“The invasion of privacy judgement in favor of Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, delivers a crippling blow to Gawker and poses serious concerns for the free press. Gutterman, an alumni of both Newhouse and Syracuse University College of Law is an expert on communications law and the First Amendment. #Gawker out of business for free#Gutterman, Director of the Newhouse School Tully Center for Free Speech and Associate Professor of Newspaper and Online Journalism, offers insight on the events that led to Gawker Media being put up for auction. ![]()
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