Taylor Swift threatens legal action against student who tracks celebrity jets

SAN FRANCISCO: Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who recently fought an uphill battle against her deepfake porn images, has threatened legal action against Jack Sweeney, a college student who tracks celebrity jets and faced Elon Musk’s ire in the past.

Musk had banned him from Twitter (now called X) and accused the student of posting “assassination coordinates.”

Now, an attorney for Swift has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sweeney, a University of Central Florida junior, reports The Washington Post.

The letter alleged that Sweeney’s social media accounts cause “direct and irreparable harm, as well as emotional and physical distress.”

Unless Sweeney stops the “stalking and harassing behaviour,” Swift would “have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies.”

“I think it’s important to note that nowhere do I intend for harm. I actually think Swift has some good songs. I believe in transparency and public information,” Sweeney told The Verge.

Sweeney's accounts share information publicly available through the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and signals that private jets broadcast.

Sweeney also posts estimates of the associated fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions of the flights.

In late 2022, Sweeney returned to X with an account that shares data on Musk’s private jet but with a 24-hour delay. He moved to Instagram Threads after Musk banned him.

Sweeney runs multiple accounts across Threads, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky and other social media platforms.