Mark Zuckerberg has suspended college student’s Instagram and Threads accounts that were tracking jets of celebrities, including those owned by Taylor Swift and Elon Musk.
On X, Jack Sweeney complained that his @elonmusksjet account had been “blacked out” without providing a reason.
Except from desantisjet and trump_jet, all of his other celebrity jet tracking profiles were deleted from Zuckerberg’s two platforms on Monday.
Accusing Meta of acting “without transparency” and arbitrarily, Sweeney claimed that no explanation has been provided to him so far.
Meta issues statement over Sweeney’s celebrity jet tracking accounts suspension
According to a Meta representative who spoke to Daily Mail, the accounts were taken down for “violating our privacy policy.”
There was a “risk of physical harm to individuals” due to Sweeney’s jet tracking accounts, they continued, as per Daily Mail.
The suspensions from Meta comes after Sweeney’s departure from X after Elon Musk assumed leadership of the platform in 2022.
According to the CEO of SpaceX, the accounts were a physical safety hazard, and X even revised its private information policy to forbid disclosing people’s real-time locations.
Sweeney’s tracking accounts forecast the emissions produced by celebrities’ jets and make information about their flights public.
The student from the University of Central Florida previously stated that he thinks his tracking accounts are crucial for “transparency” and the public interest.
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Taylor Swift’s lawyers issued warning to Sweeney
Earlier, Taylor Swift’s attorneys threatened to sue him for disclosing the whereabouts of her private jet. The lawyers accused Sweeney of “stalking and harassing behavior” in a strongly written letter.
They stated that if Sweeney did not cease monitoring her flights, they would “have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies.”
They said Swift and her family had suffered “direct and irreparable harm”, as well as “emotional and physical pain,” and that Sweeney’s accounts had increased her persistent state of worry for her personal safety.
Sweeney has monitored a number of well-known figures, including celebrities like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, and Taylor Swift. He even tracked Russian oligarchs like Alexander Abramov.
His efforts earned him a spot on Forbes’ 30 under 30 2024 list for consumer technology.
He garnered limelight when Musk paid the university student $5,000 to stop posting his flight details online. However, the Tesla CEO did not respond when he asked for $50,000.
