Taylor Swift threatens legal action against Florida college student who runs social media account tracking her and other celebrities’ private jets, calling the issue a ‘life-or-death matter’ did.
In December, the pop icon’s lawyer Katie Wright Morrone told Jack Sweeney, 21, that if he did not stop his “stalking and harassing behavior,” he had “no options other than pursuing all legal remedies.” A suspension letter was sent stating, “No.” According to the Washington Post, I recently obtained a copy of the letter.
She said Sweeney’s testimony caused “direct and irreparable harm and emotional and physical suffering” to Swift and her family and heightened the “Fearless” singer’s “constant state of fear for her safety.” he claimed.
“This may be a game to you, a means to your hopes of gaining wealth or fame, but for your client it is a matter of life and death,” Morrone of the Washington law firm Venable wrote. .
She added: “There is no legitimate interest or public need for this information other than stalking, harassment, and the exercise of control and control.”
Asked if there was any evidence that some of Swift’s stalkers used the jet tracking account, Swift’s publicist Tree Payne told the Washington Post: “We have no information regarding the ongoing police investigation. “I cannot comment, but I can confirm that the timing of the stalking suggests a relationship.”
“When I see his posts, I know exactly where she is and when.”
But Sweeney, a junior at the University of Central Florida, criticized the letter as an intimidation tactic and said “the information is already out there.”
“Her team thinks they can control the world,” he told the Washington Post.
Sweeney, who has been monitoring Swift’s private jet flights for more than a year, also told the newspaper that the situation was “eerily similar to when Elon Musk threatened legal action for tracking the Tesla founder’s jet.” “There is,” he said.
“I don’t mean any harm anywhere,” he told the Post. “I actually think Swift has some good songs.
“I believe in transparency and public information.”
He also rejected his lawyers’ argument that there was “no legitimate interest in sharing jet information,” calling it “inherently false.”
“Her fans [are] They are the ones who grew the TaylorSwiftJets account and subreddit,” Sweeney claimed. “Tracking accounts typically have more supporters and fans than other accounts.
“The Embassy of Japan in the United States make a statement They say they’re “confident” Swift will make it on time to fly from Tokyo to the Super Bowl, I think people are interested, and whether I track it or not, your jet I think you should fully expect that it will be tracked. It’s all public information. ”
The college junior used publicly available data from the Federal Aviation Administration and volunteer hobbyists who track aircraft signals to discover the planes owned by billionaires, politicians, Russian oligarchs and other notables. and helicopter takeoffs and landings.
“This is not about invading someone’s privacy by putting a GPS tracker on them. This is using public information to track a public figure’s jet,” said Sweeney’s lawyer, James Slater.
“This is their way of trying to drown out a PR problem and try to bully my client to quell bad press,” he said of the pop sensation’s lawyers’ letter.
Swift was facing criticism at the time the letter was sent. On the environmental impact of her flight She was traveling across the country to visit her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
Just two years ago, Sweeney’s testimony was cited in an analysis that named Swift the “biggest celebrity.” [carbon dioxide] “Polluter” 2022.
A representative for the Grammy winner said at the time that her “jet is regularly rented out to other people.”
“It is clearly wrong to attribute most or all of these trips to her.”
Her publicist Tree Payne also told The Washington Post that Swift purchased more than twice the amount of “carbon credits” needed to offset her travel costs ahead of her global Elas tour.
Sweeney also said that at the time of the letter, Facebook and Instagram had disabled accounts created to track Swift’s air travel, violating the platforms’ privacy rules.
He then began posting updates about Swift’s flights to the account he uses to report on some of the stars’ trips. It’s called Celebrity Jets.
But last month, Morrone sent a second letter to Sweeney calling Swift’s travel posts “harassment,” The Washington Post reported.
At that point, Sweeney said he contacted the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights organization, which put him in touch with Slater.
A Florida-based attorney then responded to Morrone, noting that she had not filed any legal claims.
He also said the information about the jet that Sweeney shares online “does not pose a threat” to Swift’s safety, adding that Sweeney’s account is “secured and does not violate any of Swift’s legal rights.” “I am involved in speech that
Slater said he has not yet received a response.
The newspaper has also reached out to Swift’s representatives and Slater for comment.
