Taylor Swift is known for her catchy songs, loyal fanbase, and glamorous lifestyle, but she is also known for her frequent use of private jets.
Recently, a student who tracks her jet usage online has received a legal threat from her lawyers, who claim that his posts endanger her safety. However, people are more concerned about the environmental impact of her jet travel, and question her commitment to social causes.
Jack Sweeney is a 21-year-old student at the University of Central Florida, who runs several social media accounts that track the private jet usage of celebrities and public figures, including Taylor Swift.
He uses publicly available data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and broadcast signals from aircrafts to track the takeoffs and landings of planes belonging to the wealthy and famous.
He then posts the information online, along with estimates of their carbon footprints and comparisons with other celebrities and world leaders.
Sweeney says he started the project as a hobby, but also as a way to raise awareness about the environmental and social costs of private jet travel. He has even received praise and recognition for his work, including a Forbes 30 Under 30 nomination in 2022.
In December 2023, he received a cease-and-desist letter from Swift’s lawyers, who accused him of engaging in “stalking and harassing behavior” and posing “an imminent threat to the safety and wellbeing” of the singer.
The letter cited several stalkers that Taylor Swift has dealt with in her career, and said that Sweeney’s posts give criminals “a roadmap to carry out their plans”. The letter also claimed that there was “no legitimate interest in or public need for this information, other than to stalk, harass, and exert dominion and control”.
Sweeney told the Washington Post that he thinks the letter is a scare tactic, and that he does not intend to harm the pop star or anyone else. He said that all the information he posts is publicly available, and that it does not reveal Swift’s exact location or itinerary.
Jack Sweeney has also faced backlash and legal threats from some of the celebrities he tracks, such as Elon Musk, who accused him of sharing his “assassination coordinates” and got him banned from Twitter in 2022.
