Taylor Swift and Elon Musk share the same enemy: a college student. Both of them have threatened legal action against Jack Sweeny, who tracks billionaire’s private jets using public data.
This data is often used to measure a celebrity’s CO2 emissions, a reason why Taylor Swift has been criticized. According to a report by Yard, she was the celebrity with the largest carbon footprint in 2022 in terms of private jet emissions.
According to the Associated Press, Swift’s attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sweeney in late December, accusing his tracking of providing “individuals intent on harming her, or with nefarious or violent intentions, a roadmap to carry out their plans.” The letter also accuses Sweeney of harassment.
A spokesperson for Swift did not provide details or elaboration on the allegations, or whether there is evidence that stalkers are using the data to follow the artist, when asked about it.
Sweeney says his automated tracking setup repackages public flight data that private jets broadcast. Private jets are required to do so by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“One should reasonably expect that their jet will be tracked, whether or not I’m the one doing it, as it is public information after all,” Sweeney wrote.
In 2022, Elon Musk banned one of Sweney’s accounts on Twitter and threatened to take legal action against him for tracking Musk’s private jet, saying it was posting “assassination coordinates”. He also suspended the accounts of high-profile journalists covering the case.
Sweeney doesn’t just track the jets of celebrities and billionaires; during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he began tracking about 30 Russian oligarchs, including Vladimir Putin. He has also tracked U.S. politicians like Ron DeSantis.
