Taylor Swift has angered some of her fans, after her lawyers threatened to sue a student for tracking her and publishing information about her plane online. Jack Sweeney, a 21-year-old who attends the University of Central Florida, was given a cease-and-desist letter by Taylor's attorney. The message asked him to stop sharing the singer's location.
Sweeney uses publicly available data to track takeoff and landing information for planes or private jets belonging to prominent figures. The information is published the next day.
Taylor's lawyers claimed that this tracking amounted to “stalking.” The student was banned from Twitter (X Now) in 2022 after he was accused of sharing the “coordinates for the assassination” of Elon Musk.
Taylor Swift's lawyers issued a cease and desist letter in December, which said the information shared by Jack Sweeney poses a potential threat to the singer's safety and well-being. They called it a “matter of life and death” for the “Karma” hitmaker. The letter also referenced how Taylor dealt with numerous stalkers throughout her career, and the data Sweeney shared gives criminals an easy road map to her whereabouts.
Jack Sweeney told the BBC in a statement that he did not intend to harm anyone by sharing the plane information. He said:
“I actually think Swift has some good songs. I believe in transparency and public information.”
Sweeney said he received the letter after the media began examining Taylor's carbon fingerprints. However, the whole ordeal was not received well by netizens as they blamed the singer for threatening the student.
One X user responded to Dexerto's post for the same thing and called out Taylor.
The Internet slams Taylor Swift over plane tracking controversy
Internet users have criticized Taylor Swift for using private jets that increase carbon emissions and thus contribute to climate issues and global warming. They said the singer's lawyers threatened to sue Sweeney in an attempt to deflect attention from Taylor's carbon emissions records.
However, a few others spoke out in defense of Taylor Swift's privacy and the risks of revealing such information to the public.
Others had a neutral position on the issue and spoke on behalf of Taylor and Jack Sweeney's side.
A 33-year-old man was arrested last month for stalking outside Taylor Swift's home in New York City. A spokesman for the singer told US media that Jack Sweeney's posts about her plane information were partly responsible for the accident. Spokeswoman Trey Payne said:
“We cannot comment on any ongoing police investigation but can confirm that the timing of the prosecutions suggests a connection.”
She said Sweeney's posts stated exactly when and where Taylor would be.
According to digital marketing company Yard, in 2022, Taylor Swift topped the list of celebrities who own private jets, with the highest carbon dioxide emissions recorded.
