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Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons

reuters.com

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Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons

#51

Post by mukmuk »

threatofrain wrote: post #28
bko wrote: post #17

> Litigation finance is typically a business venture. It doesn’t become charity because a wealthy person uses it as a template for a personal crusade and then insists he’s doing everyone else a favor. Why? Many cases brought by individuals or groups on moral grounds have led the way to better governance. A lot of good work has been done by groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Why should individuals or g…

I don't think the problem is the fact that Peter Thiel tossed money in the direction of a lawsuit. The issue is that money matters in justice, and that Peter Thiel coincidentally put his money somewhere did not make this so. People are focusing shame on Peter Thiel today but that's the wrong place. There will always be rich people.

I am also somewhat uncomfortable that his sponsorship was kept secret for so long, and that it easily could have stayed secret indefinitely.

Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons

#52

Post by yummyfajitas »

byuu wrote: post #38
NhanH wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly is the difference between "bankroll personal vendettas" and "fight against what you believe is bad"? The latter has to be broke and the former isn't?

Funding a secret lawsuit against a company to try and destroy them for outing you as being gay is not good behavior. This has dangerous precedent for freedom of speech in journalism. If what Gawker did was illegal in outing him, he should have sued for that. If it were just morally objectionable, he should have called them on it and let the public decide how to respond. What this lawsuit says is, "say something about…

Do you believe it was wrong for rich people to fund (via the Southern Poverty Law Center intermediary) Keenan vs Aryan Nations, on the basis of hating Aryan Nations?

https://www.splcenter.org/seeking-justice/case-docket/keenan...

If not, why not?

Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons

#53

Post by devishard »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #37

Wait a minute. Gawker is no righteous hero here. Let's see if I understand correctly. Gawker outs Thiel (which is nobody's business, yet Gawker decided to make it people's business). Gawker at some point later posts an illegal SEX tape (again, nobody's business). Now, we're supposed to feel sorry for Gawker because Thiel wants to help out another person who was WRONGED by Gawker? Wow. Just wow.

I don't feel bad for Gawker at all.

I do, however, feel concerned that a rich person like Thiel can buy litigation. That's a highly dangerous capability. He's using that power for good in this case, but I doubt he always will.

Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons

#54

Post by danso »

FWIW, David Simon, one of the biggest living romantics about the American press, has been ripping Gawker and defending Thiel for the past week. Probably the most prominent of journalists who I've yet seen defend Thiel: https://twitter.com/aodespair/status/736536875498770432

Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons

#55

Post by bedhead »

It's evident that this was not only an isolated incident but one that seems to have more than a decent amount of justification. How so many people have managed to extrapolate this into tech robber barons taking over the galaxy is hyperbole at best. I think there is a part of this that admittedly has an ick-factor to it in general and people aren't sure how to articulate that. (Full disclosure, I utterly despise Gawker, have for years and have made prior vitriolic comments - quite proudly - about how awful Gawker and its associates are)

As for the financing specifically, is it really materially different than lawyers taking cases on contingency? They are in effect self-financing cases on behalf of their clients...same basic thing is going on here, the plaintiff has a "backer" to float the case for them.

Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons

#56

Post by michael_nielsen »

supergirl wrote: post #11

I wonder what's the connection, if any, between the author of the article and Gawker. If he's the same guy I found on Linkedin, he seems to be working for some kind of PR company for hire; also confirmed by the article footnote. I hope nobody takes this article only for what it is but also questions why it is.

Following that rabbit hole, the author seems to be this person: http://www.startegix.com/about.html

The first five things in the list of things his company does are: "Public Relations, Media Relations, Press Material Creation, Marketing Communications, Brand Positioning".

It appears that Reuters is running unmarked advertising for Gawker or some other client with similar interests. Lovely.

Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons

#58

Post by Teeboo »

This is why I find myself firmly on Team Thiel.

Gawker are using the historical precedent of freedom of the press in order to exploit the private lives of people, illegally, for profit. It is this corrupted pursuit of salacious gossip which led to the hacking of thousands and thousands of voicemails in the United Kingdom by News International. Not just celebrities but political figures and most chillingly, victims of crime. Parents whose children had been abducted and/or murdered had their private lives hacked by an international news agency to churn out sordid headlines.

So yeh, I am Team Thiel until the press learn to wield their authority with respect and deference.

Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons

#59

Post by eli_gottlieb »

Xylakant wrote: post #34
bko wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are more leaked sex tapes used for commercial purposes in the public interest?

Nobody pretended so - which is the whole point. Thiel could have given his money to a foundation that openly sponsors lawsuits for media victioms. That would haven been for the public good. Instead he chose to sponsor the lawsuit (and other lawsuits) against gawker in secret because he feels wronged by them with the intent of punishing them. And that's not in the public interest because it can be considered a form of…

If Thiel's action was vigilantism, the use of private combat or violence to punish perceived injustice, then maybe the real problem is that our legal system has become a form of trial by financial combat.

Re: Thiel shows why tech billionaires are the new robber barons

#60

Post by TheCondor »

mukmuk wrote: post #51
threatofrain wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the problem is the fact that Peter Thiel tossed money in the direction of a lawsuit. The issue is that money matters in justice, and that Peter Thiel coincidentally put his money somewhere did not make this so. People are focusing shame on Peter Thiel today but that's the wrong place. There will always be rich people.

I am also somewhat uncomfortable that his sponsorship was kept secret for so long, and that it easily could have stayed secret indefinitely.

Why does that matter?
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