Taylor Swift warns student over jet tracking
A student who monitors celebrities' private jets, including Taylor Swift's, using public data, has been warned of legal action by Swift's attorneys for posting her flight details online.
Jack Sweeney, who compiles the departure and arrival times of aircraft owned by affluent individuals and shares this information with a one-day delay, has been accused by Swift's legal team of engaging in behavior equivalent to "stalking."
In 2022, Sweeney faced a Twitter ban when Elon Musk accused him of disclosing his "assassination coordinates."
Swift's legal representatives have sent Sweeney, a 21-year-old University of Central Florida student, a cease-and-desist letter in December, demanding he halt the distribution of her jet's whereabouts. The letter alleges that such information significantly compromises Swift's safety and security, describing it as a critical concern.
The letter references the numerous stalkers Swift has encountered throughout her career, arguing that the shared data essentially provides a blueprint for potential criminal acts. The details of this letter have been widely reported by the American press.
According to the BBC, Sweeney stated his intentions were never harmful, expressing his admiration for Swift's music and his belief in the importance of transparency and public access to information. He noted that the legal threat followed increased media scrutiny of Swift's environmental impact.
In 2022, a study by digital marketing agency Yard identified Swift as the celebrity with the most significant private jet carbon emissions, estimating her jet's emissions to be approximately 1,185 times the average person's annual total.
This legal development coincides with a recent incident where a 33-year-old man was arrested for stalking outside Swift's residence. Swift's spokesperson, Tree Paine, implied a link between the detailed posts about Swift's jet and the timing of stalker activities, suggesting that such information precisely indicates Swift's location.
Swift's travel schedule has been under the spotlight, especially with her ongoing concert tour and upcoming travel plans, including a flight to Las Vegas for the NFL Super Bowl to watch her boyfriend play, following her concert in Tokyo.
Sweeney's tracking does not disclose who is on the flights or the passengers' destinations upon landing. He has also monitored the private flights of other notable figures such as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg.
