PlainSite
 | |
Type of site | Legal |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | Aaron Greenspan |
| Products | Reality Check |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Optional paid subscription |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | 2011 |
| Current status | Online |
PlainSiteis a US based website dedicated tolegal datatransparencyadvocacy[1][2]developed in conjunction by Think Computer Corporation and the charitable organization Think Computer Foundation.[3]PlainSite provides both free and paid access tolegal documentsand information about theUS legal systemon a variety of subjects and caselaw.[4]The website previously collected legal documents via theFree Law Project's RECAP archive until the archive adopted a fee-based approach.[4]
PlainSite on occasion publishes a report called Reality Check in which each edition focuses on a particular company and details allegations and controversies surrounding it.[5]In the report on Credit Acceptance, the authors "questioned the health of the company and the quality of the loans backing their securities." In another edition concerning Facebook, the authors allege Facebook not only has approximately one billion fake accounts but that the company itself facilitates fake account creation in order to boost user metrics.[6]
Controversies
[edit]While PlainSite archives extensive legal documentation and analysis concerning companies, it also has had its own controversial involvements in litigious matters concerningFacebook,[7]Tesla,[8]andElon Musk[9]specifically.
In 2012, PlainSite published a list of 2,000 suspectedpatent trollsassembled from records available via theUnited States Patent and Trademark Office's patents database.[10]Later, a man convicted in 2013 of conspiring to commitmortgage fraud[11]unsuccessfully attempted to delist PlainSite along with other legal and government-controlled websites from Google's index for hosting legal documents pertaining to him.[12]
Tesla
[edit]PlainSite's republishing of unsealed documents regarding Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity was noted by multiple publications,[13][14]as well as a published email exchange between Elon Musk and Greenspan regardingRandeep Hothi.[15]In March 2021, PlainSite uncoveredDMVrecords showing that Tesla considers itsFull Self-Drivingtechnology to currently be non-autonomous.[16][17]In May 2021, PlainSite released a memo in which Tesla's director of Autopilot software told the California DMV that Musk has been overstating Autopilot's capabilities, saying "Elon’s tweet does not match engineering reality".[18]Greenspan has disclosed his ownership ofput optionsagainstTesla's stock.[19]
In March 2021, PlainSite publishedFOIAdocuments indicating conglomerateSoftbankwas under "active investigation by theSecurities and Exchange Commission."[20][21]
References
[edit]- ^Kolodny, Lora (2019-09-23)."Tesla and Musk hid facts about SolarCity deal and SpaceX involvement, shareholders claim in unsealed court docs".CNBC.Retrieved2020-05-29.
- ^Krolik, Aaron; Hill, Kashmir (2021-04-24)."The Slander Industry".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2021-04-25.
- ^"Charity Navigator - Unrated Profile for Think Computer Foundation".Charity Navigator.Retrieved2020-05-29.
- ^abAmbrogi, Robert (2018-02-16)."Invective and Intrigue Within the Free Law Movement Over RECAP Changes".LawSites.Retrieved2020-05-30.
- ^"PlainSite:: Reality Check".plainsite.org.Retrieved2020-08-19.
- ^Morse, Jack."50 percent of Facebook users could be fake, report claims".Mashable.Retrieved2020-09-14.
- ^Boyd-Barrett, Oliver (2020).RussiaGate and propaganda: disinformation in the age of social media.Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.ISBN978-0-429-26053-7.OCLC1107667017.
- ^Rudgard, Olivia (2019-11-10)."Trouble at Tesla: How fires and lawsuits could thwart Elon Musk's big bet on solar energy".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved2020-05-29.
- ^"Tesla Investor Latest To Sue Elon Musk For Libel By Tweet - Law360".law360.Retrieved2020-05-29.
- ^Kim, Kathleen (2012-12-21)."Legal Research Site Names 2,000 Patent Trolls".Inc.Retrieved2020-08-04.
- ^Fri, Jul 31st 2015 8:53am-Tim Cushing."Of All The Ways The DMCA Takedown Process Can Be Responsibly Used, These Are None Of Them".Techdirt.Retrieved2020-07-17.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^Tue, Nov 22nd 2016 10:45am-Tim Cushing."Convicted Felon Ask Google To Delist Multiple Government Websites Because His Name Is Protected By 'Common Law Trademark'".Techdirt.Retrieved2020-07-17.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^Derrick, Jayson (2019-09-24)."Unsealed Court Docs Raise New Questions About Tesla's SolarCity Acquisition".Benzinga.Retrieved2020-05-30.
- ^"SolarCity's Troubles Fuel the Religious War Around Tesla's Future and Elon Musk".Pro Market.2019-10-30.Retrieved2020-05-30.
- ^"The Tesla Skeptics Who Bet Against Elon Musk".bloomberg.Retrieved2020-07-17.
- ^Silver, David."Tesla Emails To The California DMV Emphasize Continued Reliance On Maps".Forbes.Retrieved2021-03-25.
- ^"Tesla touts self-driving to consumers. To the DMV, it tells a different tale".Los Angeles Times.2021-03-09.Retrieved2021-03-25.
- ^Hawkins, Andrew J. (2021-05-07)."Tesla privately admits Elon Musk has been exaggerating about 'full self-driving'".The Verge.Retrieved2021-05-07.
- ^California Northern District Court (May 15, 2020)."Greenspan v. Qazi et al: Exhibit M".Plainsite.RetrievedMay 29,2020.
- ^"SEC Confirms Probe of SoftBank".Institutional Investor.Retrieved2021-03-25.
- ^"The SEC Is Investigating Major Tech Investor Softbank".vice.Retrieved2021-03-25.
