Taylor Swift's flight tracker brushes off legal threat from singer
What's the story
Jack Sweeney, a 21-year-old college student, recently received a cease and desist letter from Taylor Swift's legal team for tracking her private jet.
In response, Sweeney has now posted his lawyers' reply on X (formerly Twitter), captioning it with a nod to Swift's song, "Look What You Made Me Do."
Swift's attorney accused Sweeney of "stalking and harassing behaviors" due to his monitoring of the singer's jet activity.
Twitter Post
Take a look at Sweeney's legal reply
Look What You Made Me Do pic.twitter.com/kETxWamSP3
— Jack Sweeney (@Jxck_Sweeney) February 19, 2024
Legal
Sweeney's lawyer defends tracking as 'protected speech'
Sweeney's legal team, led by attorney James Slater of Slater Legal PLLC, argued that their client's actions were not unlawful.
They stated that Swift's lawyer, Katie Wright Morrone, failed to find any evidence of a lawsuit against Sweeney for using his "protected speech" and publishing publicly accessible Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data.
Slater said, "Put simply, there is nothing unlawful about (Sweeney's) use of publicly accessible information to track private jets, including those used by public figures like Taylor Swift."
Claim
No credible legal claim identified
Slater highlighted that the only legal allegation raised by Morrone was a California stalking legislation.
However, the definition of a stalker requires posing a "credible threat" to the victim, which Sweeney has never done.
Furthermore, Slater argued that Swift was not in danger due to the information exposing the whereabouts of private planes.
He concluded by suggesting that Morrone's letter was an attempt to "intimidate and censor" his client without any credible legal claim.
Goal
Sweeney believes in transparency and public information
In a previous interview with CNN, Sweeney said he had never intended any harm with his actions and was merely compiling "public information."
He stated, "I actually think Swift has some good songs. I believe in transparency and public information."
Sweeney also noted that there is high public interest in the accounts from Swift's fans, and she could have a "decent expectation" that her private jet will be tracked "whether or not I do it."
History
Here's recalling the Sweeney-Musk feud
Sweeney is no stranger to controversy. Back in December 2022, he was banned from X for tracking the movement of Elon Musk's private jet, similar to Swift. At that time, the Tesla top boss accused him of posting "assassination coordinates" on the web.