Current:Home > ContactTaylor Swift's private jet tracker claps back, saying he's done 'nothing unlawful' -BrightFuture Investments
Taylor Swift's private jet tracker claps back, saying he's done 'nothing unlawful'
View
Date:2025-04-12 01:13:22
One college student has no problem sharing Taylor Swift's flight paths all too well.
University of Central Florida student Jack Sweeney is pushing back on a cease-and-desist letter sent to him by Swift's attorney demanding he stop publicly posting the singer's flights on her jet. The 21-year-old ran the now-defunct Instagram page @taylorswiftjets, where he reported her flight activity using data from various sources of publicly available information.
Swift's attorney, Katie Wright Morrone, sent multiple letters to Sweeney demanding that he stop tracking and publicly sharing her flight information. In a dismissive reply shared on X on Monday, Sweeney's attorney said the 22-year-old student and his company, GRNDCTRL, did nothing illegal.
Sweeney captioned the post, "Look What You Made Me Do," referencing the title track off Swift's 2017 "Reputation" album. He also shared the two letters sent to him by Swift's team.
"Put simply, there is nothing unlawful about GRNDCTRL's use of publicly accessible information to track private jets, including those by public figures like Taylor Swift," wrote Sweeney's attorney, James Slater.
Slater argued that Sweeney's speech is protected and did not violate any of Swift's legal rights. He added that GRNDCTRL has also reported flight history for Russian oligarchs and Elon Musk.
'Texas Hold 'Em':Beyoncé becomes first Black woman to top Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart
Attorneys rejects claims he posed 'credible threat' to Swift
Swift's attorneys argue that Sweeney's actions put the popstar at risk by providing up-to-date location information accessible to potential stalkers and would-be harassers.
Slater rejected those claims by clarifying that Sweeney is using information that is already made publicly available. He added that the language in Morrone's letter defines a stalker as someone who poses a "credible threat" to a victim.
"Our clients have never made any threats against Ms. Swift and your letter does not suggest they have done so," Slater said. "Further, your letter's tone is unfounded."
USA TODAY has reached out to Swift's representatives for comment.
How is Taylor Swift's jet being tracked?
Sweeney has multiple social media accounts tracking aircrafts belonging to celebrities, billionaires and politicians, with some even analyzing the carbon footprint of the jet owners' trips.
The information doesn't come from one source bur rather uses data pieced together from a few different sources of publicly available information, such as registration information from the Federal Aviation Administration, and broadcast signals from the planes themselves. Those signals are known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, data.
ADS-B technology is required by the Federal Aviation Administration on aircraft and shares real-time position, altitude and other information that is important to air traffic controllers. The data also allows for sites like FlightAware.com to show real-time commercial flight locations.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci and Christopher Cann
veryGood! (99)
Related
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Saudi Arabia’s Solar Ambitions Still Far Off, Even With New Polysilicon Plant
- Proof Matty Healy Is Already Bonding With Taylor Swift’s Family Amid Budding Romance
- Kit Keenan Shares The Real Reason She’s Not Following Mom Cynthia Rowley Into Fashion
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Video: The Standing Rock ‘Water Protectors’ Who Refuse to Leave and Why
- Native American Leaders Decry Increasingly Harsh Treatment of Dakota Access Protesters
- How our perception of time shapes our approach to climate change
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- The FDA no longer requires all drugs to be tested on animals before human trials
Ranking
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- With telehealth abortion, doctors have to learn to trust and empower patients
- With less access to paid leave, rural workers face hard choices about health, family
- Inside Blake Lively's Family World With Ryan Reynolds, 4 Kids and Countless Wisecracks
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- Ryan Shazier was seriously injured in an NFL game. He has advice for Damar Hamlin
- Trump’s EPA Pick: A Climate Denialist With Disdain for the Agency He’ll Helm
- Denver Nuggets defeat Miami Heat for franchise's first NBA title
Recommendation
The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
A U.K. medical office mistakenly sent patients a text message with a cancer diagnosis
Donald Trump’s Record on Climate Change
Is it time for a reality check on rapid COVID tests?
Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
Cormac McCarthy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Road and No Country for Old Men, dies at 89
Why Gratitude Is a Key Ingredient in Rachael Ray's Recipe for Rebuilding Her Homes
Illinois Lures Wind Farm Away from Missouri with Bold Energy Policy