Meta has suspended several Threads and Instagram accounts tracking the private jet travel of high-profile figures, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Taylor Swift.
The accounts, maintained by Florida college student Jack Sweeney, were gradually disabled over the past few days, starting with Taylor Swift’s jet tracker on Friday, followed by the remaining accounts on Monday. Meta cited privacy concerns and a “risk of physical harm” as reasons for the suspensions, in line with recommendations from the independent Oversight Board.
Sweeney’s accounts displayed publicly available flight data sourced from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). However, the sharing of such information on social media platforms has sparked privacy concerns from the celebrities whose private jets were being tracked.
Elon Musk and Taylor Swift have both condemned Sweeney’s activities, with Musk describing the accounts as “assassination coordinates” and Swift referring to them as “stalking and harassing behavior.” Despite the objections, neither Musk nor Swift has taken formal legal action against him.
Sweeney gained public attention when Elon Musk banned his @ElonJet account from Twitter in December 2022 after acquiring the platform. Sweeney subsequently moved his jet-tracking activities to Meta’s platforms. The tracking itself remains possible, Sweeney claims, as private jet data is still publicly accessible, often aided by tips from flight-tracking enthusiasts.
This development coincides with ongoing debates around privacy and transparency. In May, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill allowing private aircraft owners to anonymize their registration information. Despite this, Sweeney asserts that tracking high-profile individuals remains feasible through publicly available data.
Featured Image courtesy of ALY SONG/REUTERS
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