According to reports, Taylor Swift is unable to brush off a Florida college student who has been using public information and social media to monitor the private jets of wealthy individuals, politicians, and famous figures.

In the end of December, Taylor Swift’s team sent a letter to Jack Sweeney, a third-year student majoring in information technology at the University of Central Florida, ordering him to stop using automated methods to track her private jet. They claim that this has alerted potential stalkers to her whereabouts and could potentially lead to harm. The letter, written by lawyers from Venable law firm, accuses Sweeney of essentially giving individuals with harmful or violent intentions a guide to carry out their plans.

Sweeney sent an email to The Associated Press containing a link to the letter. In the email, he stressed his belief in the value of transparency and making information available to the public, while also stating that he never intended to cause harm.

The writer stated that it is reasonable to assume that their jet will be monitored, regardless of whether or not they are the one doing it. This is because such information is public.

A representative for Swift reiterated the legal accusation, stating that the appearance of stalkers may indicate a link to Sweeney’s flight-tracking websites. The representative did not provide further details when asked about this claim, including whether stalkers have been observed waiting for Swift at the airport upon her arrival or if there is proof that they have deduced her whereabouts based on the arrival time of her flight.

According to the legal letter, Sweeney is accused of neglecting the well-being of others, purposefully and repeatedly harassing our client, and engaging in offensive and extreme behavior that consistently violates our client’s privacy.

Sweeney’s automated tracking system collects and redistributes public flight data from private jets that is transmitted through ADS-B, a mandatory method regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. This information has been collected by hobbyists for some time without any issues. However, attorneys from Venable have requested that Sweeney cease sharing this data to the general public.

In the past, Sweeney had over 30 accounts on Twitter. The platform, now called X, was bought by Elon Musk for $44 billion in 2022. Musk later had a disagreement with Sweeney, stating that his belief in free speech prevented him from banning Sweeney’s @elonjet account, despite seeing it as a potential threat to personal safety.

However, it didn’t take long for Musk to suddenly change his stance and essentially prohibit the student from X. He accused Sweeney of putting his personal safety at risk.

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The article has been revised to address the method used by Jack Sweeney to acquire his flight tracking data. He receives this information from privately owned aircrafts that are required by the government to broadcast flight information, rather than receiving it directly from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Source: wral.com