Taylor Swift threatens legal action against student tracking her private jet

Some Swifties decry the cease-and-desist to Jack Sweeney, who measures public figures’ carbon footprints online, as unnecessary

Attorneys for pop star Taylor Swift are threatening legal action against a college student who is tracking Swift’s jet use via social media, with some Swifties – members of Swift’s fanbase – decrying the legal action as unnecessary.

Swift’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to Jack Sweeney, a University of Central Florida student who runs several social media accounts tracking the private jet use of Swift and other public figures, the Washington Post first reported this week.

For years, Sweeney has run the accounts to track the jet use of public figures and measure their carbon footprints. Sweeney’s coverage, which uses publicly available data from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and broadcast signals from aircrafts, has been widely praised and earned the 21-year-old a Forbes 30 under 30 nod.

But in December, Swift’s attorneys from the Washington-based law firm Venable accused Sweeney of engaging in “stalking and harassing behavior” over his tracking of Swift’s jet activity.

“While this may be a game to you, or an avenue that you hope will earn you wealth or fame, it is a life-or-death matter for our Client,” Katie Wright Morrone wrote in the letter, the Post reported.

Swift has dealt with several stalkers in recent years. A 33-year-old man was charged with stalking and harassment just last month after acting erratically near the singer’s New York City home.

Morrone added that there was “no legitimate interest in or public need for this information, other than to stalk, harass, and exert dominion and control”.

When asked about the letter, Tree Paine, a spokesperson for Swift, told the Guardian in a statement: “We cannot comment on any ongoing police investigation but can confirm the timing of stalkers suggests a connection. His posts tell you exactly when and where she would be.”

Paine has previously told the Post that criticism Swift faces for her private jet use is inaccurate as she often loans the jet for others to use. Swift also bought more than double the amount of carbon credits needed to offset her private jet use for her Eras Tour, Paine told the Post on Monday.

Sweeney told the Post that the letter from Swift’s legal team was probably a scare tactic and only came after public outcry Swift faced for the environmental impact of her private jet use. He added that all information on Swift’s jet activity was publicly available and not a complete picture of where Swift could be at any given moment, similar to a publicized concert schedule.

Fans of Swift online have also decried the letter from Swift’s legal team as “cruel”.

“I’m really disappointed, [to be honest]. This is such a cruel move. It’s public info that’s already out there, there’s not much she can do, but threatening a college kid over this is just cruel,” wrote one Swift fan to Reddit.

“Good luck suing someone for a public information,” another Reddit user commented.

Sweeney has previously feuded with billionaire Elon Musk after using automated accounts on Twitter/X to track Musk’s private jet activity.

Sweeney told Musk that he would only stop publicizing the private jet’s location if Musk paid him $50,000. Musk later disbanded the account when he took over X in 2022, calling it a “safety risk” to him and his family, CNN reported.

More recently, Facebook and Instagram had disabled Sweeney’s social media accounts that track Swift’s private jet activity, arguing that they violate rules on privacy, the Post reported.

Cover photo: Taylor Swift arrives at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images