Taylor Swift threatens legal action against college student in US who tracks celebrity jets

San Francisco: Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who recently fought an uphill battle against her deepfake porn images, has threatened legal action against a college student in the United States of America who tracked her private jet and published its details on the internet

An attorney for Swift has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Jack Sweeney, a University of Central Florida junior, who uses public data and social media to track celebrity jets. In the letter, Swift's attorney alleged that Sweeney’s social media accounts cause 'direct and irreparable harm, as well as emotional and physical distress,' since it tips off stalkers about her location. Unless Sweeney stops the “stalking and harassing behaviour,” Swift would “have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies.”

Sweeney had also faced Elon Musk’s ire in the past. Musk had banned him from Twitter (now called X) and accused the student of posting “assassination coordinates.”

Jack Sweeney, however, said he believes in transparency and public information. “I think it’s important to note that nowhere do I intend for harm. I actually think Swift has some good songs. I believe in transparency and public information,” Sweeney told The Verge. Sweeney's accounts share information publicly available through the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and signals that private jets broadcast.

Sweeney also posts estimates of the associated fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions of the flights. In late 2022, Sweeney returned to X with an account that shares data on Musk’s private jet but with a 24-hour delay. He moved to Instagram Threads after Musk banned him.

Sweeney runs multiple accounts across Threads, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky and other social media platforms.
(With IANS inputs)