PlainSite
{{short description|Website dedicated to legal data transparency advocacy}}
{{Infobox website
| name = PlainSite
| logo = File:PlainSite logo.svg
| screenshot =
| type = Legal
| language = English
| owner = Aaron Greenspan
| products = Reality Check
| url = {{URL|https://www.plainsite.org}}
| commercial = Optional paid subscription
| registration = Optional
| launch_date = 2011
| current_status = Online
}}
PlainSite is a US based website dedicated to legal data transparency advocacy{{Cite web |last=Kolodny |first=Lora |date=2019-09-23 |title=Tesla and Musk hid facts about SolarCity deal and SpaceX involvement, shareholders claim in unsealed court docs |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/23/tesla-solarcity-claims-detailed-in-newly-unsealed-court-docs.html |access-date=2020-05-29 |website=CNBC |language=en}}{{Cite news|last1=Krolik|first1=Aaron|last2=Hill|first2=Kashmir|date=2021-04-24|title=The Slander Industry|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/04/24/technology/online-slander-websites.html|access-date=2021-04-25|issn=0362-4331}} developed in conjunction by Think Computer Corporation and the charitable organization Think Computer Foundation.{{Cite web |title=Charity Navigator - Unrated Profile for Think Computer Foundation |url=http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.profile&ein=341937820 |access-date=2020-05-29 |website=Charity Navigator |language=en}} PlainSite provides both free and paid access to legal documents and information about the US legal system on a variety of subjects and caselaw.{{Cite web |last=Ambrogi |first=Robert |date=2018-02-16 |title=Invective and Intrigue Within the Free Law Movement Over RECAP Changes |url=https://www.lawsitesblog.com/2018/02/invective-intrigue-within-free-law-movement-recap-changes.html |access-date=2020-05-30 |website=LawSites |language=en-US}} The website previously collected legal documents via the Free Law Project's RECAP archive until the archive adopted a fee-based approach.
Reality Check
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.{{Cite web|title=PlainSite :: Reality Check|url=https://www.plainsite.org/realitycheck/index.html|access-date=2020-08-19|website=www.plainsite.org}} 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.{{Cite web|last=Morse|first=Jack|title=50 percent of Facebook users could be fake, report claims|url=https://mashable.com/article/report-claims-half-facebook-maus-fake/|access-date=2020-09-14|website=Mashable|language=en}}
Controversies
While PlainSite archives extensive legal documentation and analysis concerning companies, it also has had its own controversial involvements in litigious matters concerning Facebook,{{Cite book |last=Boyd-Barrett |first=Oliver |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1107667017 |title=RussiaGate and propaganda: disinformation in the age of social media |publisher=Routledge |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-429-26053-7 |location=Abingdon, Oxon |oclc=1107667017}} Tesla,{{Cite news |last=Rudgard |first=Olivia |date=2019-11-10 |title=Trouble at Tesla: How fires and lawsuits could thwart Elon Musk's big bet on solar energy |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/11/10/trouble-tesla-fires-lawsuits-could-thwart-elon-musks-big-bet/ |access-date=2020-05-29 |issn=0307-1235}} and Elon Musk{{Cite web |title=Tesla Investor Latest To Sue Elon Musk For Libel By Tweet - Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1275973/tesla-investor-latest-to-sue-elon-musk-for-libel-by-tweet |access-date=2020-05-29 |website=www.law360.com |language=en}} specifically.
In 2012, PlainSite published a list of 2,000 suspected patent trolls assembled from records available via the United States Patent and Trademark Office's patents database.{{Cite web|last=Kim|first=Kathleen|date=2012-12-21|title=Legal Research Site Names 2,000 Patent Trolls|url=https://www.inc.com/kathleen-kim/exposed-names-of-patent-trolls-revealed.hmtl.html|access-date=2020-08-04|website=Inc.com}} Later, a man convicted in 2013 of conspiring to commit mortgage fraud{{Cite web|last=Fri|first=Jul 31st 2015 8:53am-Tim Cushing|title=Of All The Ways The DMCA Takedown Process Can Be Responsibly Used, These Are None Of Them|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150728/12010131782/all-ways-dmca-takedown-process-can-be-responsibly-used-these-are-none-them.shtml|access-date=2020-07-17|website=Techdirt.}} unsuccessfully attempted to delist PlainSite along with other legal and government-controlled websites from Google's index for hosting legal documents pertaining to him.{{Cite web|last=Tue|first=Nov 22nd 2016 10:45am-Tim Cushing|title=Convicted Felon Ask Google To Delist Multiple Government Websites Because His Name Is Protected By 'Common Law Trademark'|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161121/12452936102/convicted-felon-ask-google-to-delist-multiple-government-websites-because-his-name-is-protected-common-law-trademark.shtml|access-date=2020-07-17|website=Techdirt.}}
= Tesla =
PlainSite's republishing of unsealed documents regarding Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity was noted by multiple publications,{{Cite web |last=Derrick |first=Jayson |date=2019-09-24 |title=Unsealed Court Docs Raise New Questions About Tesla's SolarCity Acquisition |url=https://www.benzinga.com/news/19/09/14482078/unsealed-court-docs-raise-new-questions-about-teslas-solarcity-acquisition |access-date=2020-05-30 |website=Benzinga |language=English}}{{Cite web |date=2019-10-30 |title=SolarCity's Troubles Fuel the Religious War Around Tesla's Future and Elon Musk |url=https://promarket.org/2019/10/30/solarcity-troubles-fuel-the-religious-war-around-teslas-future-and-elon-musk/ |access-date=2020-05-30 |website=Pro Market |language=en-US}} as well as a published email exchange between Elon Musk and Greenspan regarding Randeep Hothi.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=The Tesla Skeptics Who Bet Against Elon Musk|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-01-22/the-tesla-tslaq-skeptics-who-bet-against-elon-musk|access-date=2020-07-17|website=www.bloomberg.com}} In March 2021, PlainSite uncovered DMV records showing that Tesla considers its Full Self-Driving technology to currently be non-autonomous.{{Cite web|last=Silver|first=David|title=Tesla Emails To The California DMV Emphasize Continued Reliance On Maps|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidsilver/2021/03/09/tesla-emails-to-the-california-dmv-emphasize-continued-reliance-on-maps/|access-date=2021-03-25|website=Forbes|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2021-03-09|title=Tesla touts self-driving to consumers. To the DMV, it tells a different tale|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-03-09/elon-musk-wants-it-both-ways-with-telsas-full-self-driving|access-date=2021-03-25|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} 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".{{Cite web|last=Hawkins|first=Andrew J.|date=2021-05-07|title=Tesla privately admits Elon Musk has been exaggerating about 'full self-driving'|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/7/22424592/tesla-elon-musk-autopilot-dmv-fsd-exaggeration|access-date=2021-05-07|website=The Verge|language=en}} Greenspan has disclosed his ownership of put options against Tesla's stock.{{Cite web |last=California Northern District Court |date=May 15, 2020 |title=Greenspan v. Qazi et al: Exhibit M |url=https://www.plainsite.org/dockets/download.html?id=290085684&a=14&z=e7d42c76 |access-date=May 29, 2020 |website=Plainsite}}
In March 2021, PlainSite published FOIA documents indicating conglomerate Softbank was under "active investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission."{{Cite web|title=SEC Confirms Probe of SoftBank|url=https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1r3d7cws7b4yx/SEC-Confirms-Probe-of-SoftBank|access-date=2021-03-25|website=Institutional Investor|language=en-gb}}{{Cite web|title=The SEC Is Investigating Major Tech Investor Softbank|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-sec-is-investigating-major-tech-investor-softbank/|access-date=2021-03-25|website=Vice.com|language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeroD9qjS90 Video of Aaron Greenspan presenting PlainSite to the Bay Area Legal Tech Meetup]
Category:Internet properties established in 2011