Taylor Swift Threatens Legal Action Against College Student Tracking Her Private Jet

In a recent turn of events, pop icon Taylor Swift has threatened to take legal action against a Florida college student who runs social media accounts tracking her and other celebrities' private jets. Katie Wright Morrone, Swift's attorney, sent a cease and desist letter to 21-year-old Jack Sweeney in December, accusing him of "stalking and harassing behavior" and warning that legal remedies would be pursued if he did not stop. The letter claimed that Sweeney's accounts had caused Swift and her family "direct and irreparable harm" and heightened her "constant state of fear for her personal safety."

Sweeney, a junior studying information technology at the University of Central Florida, has been monitoring Swift's private jet flights for over a year. He uses publicly available data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and volunteer hobbyists who track aircraft signals to report the takeoffs and landings of planes and helicopters owned by billionaires, politicians, Russian oligarchs, and other public figures. Sweeney argues that he is not invading anyone's privacy but rather using public information to track the jet of a public figure.

The dispute between Swift and Sweeney escalated when Swift's camp accused him of providing a “roadmap” for stalkers to carry out their plans by tracking her private jet. Sweeney, however, maintains that the information he shares is already publicly available and that he has never intended to cause harm. He believes in the importance of transparency and public information, stating, "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."

The legal letter from Swift's attorneys also accused Sweeney of disregarding the personal safety of others, willful and repeated harassment of their client, and intentional, offensive, and outrageous conduct. However, these statements seem contradictory since Sweeney's tracking accounts merely repackage public data provided by the FAA. The attorneys demanded that Sweeney immediately stop providing information about Swift's location to the public.

Sweeney's tracking accounts gained attention not only for monitoring Swift's private jet but also for tracking the movements of private jets owned by Russian oligarchs. In March 2022, he was publicizing the movements of these jets on Twitter under the account @RUOligarchJets. Sweeney expressed his desire to see one of their planes seized, highlighting the political implications of his tracking activities.

This is not the first time Sweeney has faced legal threats for his tracking endeavors. Tesla founder Elon Musk also threatened legal action against him for tracking his private jet. Musk initially claimed that his commitment to free speech prevented him from banning Sweeney's account, but he later banned him, accusing him of endangering his personal safety.

The timing of Swift's legal action coincides with criticism she faced for the environmental impact of her private jet usage. In 2022, Sweeney's accounts were cited in an analysis that named Swift the "biggest celebrity [carbon dioxide] polluter." Swift's representative countered these claims, stating that her jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals and that she purchased double the necessary carbon credits to offset her travel for her Eras Tour.

Sweeney's tracking activities on Facebook and Instagram were disabled for violating privacy rules, prompting him to create a new account called Celeb Jets to report the travel of several stars, including Swift. However, Morrone sent Sweeney a second letter claiming that his posts about Swift's travel constituted "harassing conduct." Sweeney sought assistance from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, and his attorney responded to Morrone, asserting that Sweeney's account engaged in protected speech and did not violate any of Swift's legal rights.

The ongoing dispute between Swift and Sweeney raises questions about the boundaries between public information, privacy, and the responsibilities of individuals who track and share such information. It remains to be seen how this legal battle will unfold and whether it will have broader implications for the tracking of public figures' private jet movements.