Hulk Hogan Sex-Video Verdict Could Have Limited Impact

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Hulk Hogan's $140 million courtroom victory against Gawker for posting a sex tape was many things, including a lurid inside look at the business of celebrity gossip.

But legal experts generally agree on what it wasn't: a serious threat to the First Amendment.

Legal experts say that even if the verdict is upheld on appeal, its effects could be narrow, because the sex-and-gossip site did something most media organizations wouldn't even consider.

Hogan sued Gawker for invasion of privacy after it published a video of him having sex with his best friend's wife. Gawker argued that the footage was newsworthy information about a public figure and thus protected by the First Amendment.

Gawker's founder, Nick Denton, says he will appeal and expressed confidence the verdict will be reversed.

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