Libertarian wisdom holds that "the answer to bad speech is more speech," but if you're a Peter Thiel libertarian (that is, the kind of "freedom lover" who doesn't think women should vote, wants to spy on everyone in the world, and secretly wields power to censor the free press), then "the answer to bad speech is secretly backing lawsuits by washed-up pro-wrestlers in order to kill a media outlet whose reporting you don't like."
But Thiel's principled, libertarian commitment to free speech just keeps on giving: now, he's submitted a bid to buy the distressed assets of Gawker, primarily the archives of its reporting, which would let him flush all their negative stories about him down the memory hole.
A crowdfunded bid to put the Gawker archives under control of former staffers collapsed last week.
Gawker's bankruptcy plan administrator Will Holden, of consulting firm Dacarba LLC, and the website's bankruptcy attorney Gregg Galardi, of law firm Ropes & Gray LLP, have tried to block Thiel's bid, according to court papers.
Galardi in late November asked a U.S. bankruptcy court judge to deny Thiel's request to bid, according to court papers. He also argued Thiel is "not a 'proper' purchaser" because he could end up as the target of litigation, according to court papers.
Peter Thiel submits bid for Gawker, faces challenges [Jessica DiNapoli/Reuters]
(Image: AZ Quotes)
