this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2024
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In late December, Swift’s camp hit Jack Sweeney, a junior studying information technology at the University of Central Florida, with a cease-and-desist letter that blamed his automated tracking of her private jet for tipping off stalkers as to her location. In the letter, attorneys from the law firm Venable accused Sweeney of effectively providing “individuals intent on harming her, or with nefarious or violent intentions, a roadmap to carry out their plans.”

Sweeney provided the link to that letter in an email to the Associated Press. In that message, he emphasized that while he has never intended to cause harm, he also believes strongly in the importance of transparency and public information.

“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,” he wrote.

A spokesperson for Swift echoed the legal complaint, saying that “the timing of stalkers” suggests a connection to Sweeney’s flight-tracking sites. The spokesperson did not respond to questions seeking elaboration of that charge, such as whether stalkers have been seen waiting for Swift at the airport when her plane arrived or, alternatively, if there is evidence that stalkers have somehow inferred Swift’s subsequent location from the arrival time of her flight.

The legal letter likewise accuses Sweeney of “disregarding the personal safety of others”; “willful and repeated harassment of our client”; and “intentional, offensive, and outrageous conduct and consistent violations of our client’s privacy.”

Such statements are difficult to square with the fact that Sweeney’s automated tracking accounts merely repackage public data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration, a government agency. That fact did not dissuade the Venable attorneys, who demanded that Sweeney “immediately stop providing information about our client’s location to the public.”

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[–] kernelle@0d.gs 243 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I thought we went over this already? Public data is public.

[–] Eatspancakes84@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I am also a bit lost as to why Swift would bring this suit. Most of her (work) trips are already public information, since being a public person is part of her job description. It’s a bit like the president complaining that we are tracking Airforce 1 when all news networks already report where he is going.

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[–] Nacktmull@lemmy.world 149 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Nobody should have a private jet anyway.

[–] cmoney@lemmy.world 131 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

Didn't Elon try something similar and lost in court? In case anyone is interested silicon jets tracks billionaires jets.

Edit: I confused silicone and silicon.

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[–] cozy_agent@lemmy.world 111 points 1 year ago (22 children)

Interesting how as soon as someone becomes a billionaire they become a dickhead, at least publicly.

[–] the_q@lemmy.world 49 points 1 year ago

Nah they were always dickheads... it becomes ok to show it when they hit that billion dollars mark though.

[–] 0x0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I live under Iraq and this comment made me look up whether she's a billionaire. Guess that's why she's been in the news so much lately. Jesus. I wish the billionaire count was going down, not up.

[–] DoomBot5@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago (4 children)

You mean under a rock? /c/boneappletea

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[–] rab@lemmy.ca 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I believe the opposite, you need to have dickhead qualities to become a billionaire

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[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 94 points 1 year ago (23 children)

Another point goes to the Streisand Effect.

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[–] BobGnarley@lemm.ee 87 points 1 year ago (16 children)

Well here's a wild idea, why not ride on a normal god damn plane like 90% of every other person who flies. Boom, can't be traced by some kid then AND its better by a wide range for the environment. Nothing to see here but rich people problems lol

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[–] doubletwist@lemmy.world 85 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I's she also going to sue Ticketmaster and her own PR team for publicly releasing every city she's going to in her tours?

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[–] o_oli@lemmy.world 78 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Maybe she should buy twitter and ban the guy, or is this the wrong billionaire I am thinking of?

[–] mp3@lemmy.ca 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The guy is on Mastodon, tough luck on that one.

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[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 77 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Yeeeeah... I understand her not wanting it to be easier for stalkers to track her, but also private jets are a luxury that's very bad for the environment, and the information is public anyway. Swift shouldn't win this one.

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[–] TheDarksteel94@sopuli.xyz 72 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Lol, I love that article. The author clearly also thinks that Taylor and her goons are full of shit on this one. Like, it's public information provided by the FAA. Will they sue the FAA then?

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[–] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 70 points 1 year ago

Publicly available information from the FAA. Simple as.

[–] Jakdracula@lemmy.world 68 points 1 year ago

I’m team Florida student.

[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 64 points 1 year ago (2 children)

She "disregards" everyone's safety by flying in a private jet.

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[–] alienanimals@lemmy.world 59 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It sounds tough being a billionaire. She should give it all up.

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[–] SpiceDealer@lemmy.world 53 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

The stalker argument is absolute bullshit. A stalker would most likely not use the flight path of Swift's private jet as a means of stalking her; it would be too cumbersome. Additionally, this is not "willful and repeated harassment" of Swift since Mr. Sweeny, as stated in the title and the article, obtained the information from public data provided by FAA. The intent of Mr. Sweeny's tracking project was not to expose Swift to nefarious individuals but to expose the environmental impact of her private jet. The rich and famous are public figures and, as such, are open to criticism from the public. This is merely a flex (and a futile one at that) by someone with the resources to silence critics.

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[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 46 points 1 year ago

This is like trying to stop paparazzi... No legal grounds.

[–] FengaNails@lemmy.world 45 points 1 year ago (7 children)

I bet swift could fly first class and get through the airport without being identified. But the convenience of a private jet is just too sweet.

[–] mp3@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 year ago

Or even rent a private jet on demand.

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[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 39 points 1 year ago

She's concerned for her personal safety, but shouldn't I also be concerned for the risks she brings to me from her excessive co2 production?

[–] VieuxQueb@lemmy.ca 38 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Well, I had no opinion of her since I don't follow her entertainment. And I did not care about her. I thought sheust be not so bad to have such a following but now she publicly displayed she is as deranged and out of touch as the other billionaires out there. Thus I now have an opinion on her and it's not good.

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[–] BruceTwarzen@kbin.social 37 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Just buy three more jets and send them around all the time you dummie

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[–] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (11 children)

Is this Jack Sweeney's tracker?

https://jackstech.net/planes

Which one is Taylor Swift's plane? Is it "Cosmic Girl?"

He has a much better site right here. It's awesome!!! https://globe.theairtraffic.com/

I'm literally here watching the planes on the map and listening to the noises as they pass by. What's wrong with this at all? It's like just tracking cars and the guy is doing nothing more than just relaying data.

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[–] randon31415@lemmy.world 31 points 1 year ago

Have we ever seen Musk and Swift in the same place at the same time?

[–] madcaesar@lemmy.world 30 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'd love for this to go to court, the judge to tell Swift to fuck off, pay the defendants legal fees and a massive fee for a frivolous lawsuit wasting the courts time 🤞

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[–] MrFunnyMoustache@lemmy.ml 29 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Very stupid of her to bring attention to this, because I didn't even know she had a private jet, now more people are aware of Sweeney's website.

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[–] tuxtey@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago (10 children)

I don't think she is being a dick, as privacy is definitely important. But the tracking info is public knowledge, so you can't really stop people from tracking you. Your private jet flies in public airspace, and that's that.

[–] BobGnarley@lemm.ee 55 points 1 year ago (8 children)

"Waaahhhh people are tracking me in my private jet" she is 100% being a dick. Fly in a regular ass plane like normal people do and problem solved

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[–] Taako_Tuesday@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Seems like an excuse to stop people from drawing attention to her jet use. Easy solution would be to share the flight records only after she's left each location

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[–] plz1@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So the legal complaint has no merit (even more so) if he just delays the feed by a day or two.

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[–] riodoro1@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What a bitch.

I like all the money, attention and being treated like god, but please don’t invade my privacy.

Well you can’t have one without the other, I’m not going to hold my breath for you giving up your fame tho.

[–] vala@lemmy.world 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's not even an invasion of privacy. The flight info is public.

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