Taylor Swift has threatened to take legal action against Florida college students who run social media accounts that stalk her and other celebrities’ private jets – calling the issue “life or death.”
Katie Wright Morrone, the pop icon’s attorney, sent Jack Sweeney, 21, a cease-and-desist letter in December saying she had “no choice but to pursue all legal remedies” if he didn’t stop his “stalking and harassing behavior,” according to The Washington Post, which recently obtained a copy of the letter.
She claims Sweeney’s account has caused Swift and her family “direct and irreparable injury, as well as emotional and physical distress” and has heightened the “Fearless” singer’s “constant state of fear for her personal safety.”
“While this may be a game to you, or a path you hope will bring you wealth or fame, it is a matter of life or death for our Clients,” wrote Morrone, of the Washington law firm Venable.
He added that “there is no legitimate interest or public need for this information, other than to stalk, harass and exercise power and control.”
When asked if there was any evidence that some of Swift’s stalkers were using jet-setting accounts, her spokeswoman Tree Paine told the Washington Post: “We cannot comment on any ongoing police investigation, but can confirm when the stalker suggested the connection.
“His broadcasts tell you exactly when and where he’ll be.”
Taylor Swift has threatened to take legal action against 21-year-old Jack Sweeney, who runs a social media account that tracks her and other celebrities’ private jets. FilmMagic Sweeney has long run a social media account that chronicles the takeoffs and landings of planes and helicopters owned by billionaires, politicians, Russian oligarchs and other public figures. Sincerely Jack Sweeney
But Sweeney, a junior at the University of Central Florida, said “the information is already out there,” as he criticized the letter as a scare tactic.
“His 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 Post that the situation was “very similar” to when Elon Musk threatened legal action against him for tracking the Tesla founder’s jet.
“Nowhere did I intend to do harm,” he told The Post. “I actually think Swift has some good songs.
“I believe in transparency and public information.”
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He went on to tear apart the lawyer’s argument that “I have no legitimate interest in sharing the jet information,” saying it was “inherently wrong.”
“His fans [are] those who have expanded the TaylorSwiftJets account and subreddit,” claims Sweeney. “Tracking accounts routinely have more followers and fans than otherwise.
“When the Japanese Embassy in the United States make a statement saying they’re ‘confident’ Swift can make the flight from Tokyo to the Super Bowl, I think people are interested and you should have a good expectation that your jet will be tracked, whether I do or not, after all it’s public information.”
Swift’s lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Florida college student ordering her to stop publishing information about flights she took on her private jet. FilmMagic
College juniors use publicly available data from the Federal Aviation Administration and volunteer hobbyists who track aircraft signals to report takeoffs and landings of planes and helicopters owned by billionaires, politicians, Russian oligarchs and other public figures.
“This is not about putting a GPS tracker on someone and invading their privacy. It used public information to track the jet of a public figure,” said Sweeney’s lawyer, James Slater.
“This is their way of trying to cancel the PR issue and bully my client into shutting down the bad coverage,” he said of the pop sensation’s lawyer’s letter.
At the time the letter was sent, Swift was facing criticism for the environmental impact of her flight as she traveled across the country to visit her boyfriend Travis Kelce.
Just two years earlier, Sweeney’s account was cited in an analysis that named Swift “the biggest celebrity [carbon dioxide] polluter” 2022.
Sweeney used publicly available data from the FAA and volunteer hobbyists who track aircraft signals to track the takeoffs and landings of planes and helicopters owned by billionaires, Russian oligarchs and other public figures. ZUMAPRESS.com
A rep for the Grammy winner said at the time that his “jet is regularly loaned to other individuals.”
“To attribute most or all of these trips to him is clearly incorrect.”
Her publicist Tree Paine also told the Washington Post that Swift bought more than double the “carbon credits” needed to offset her travel ahead of her worldwide Eras Tour.
Also at the time of the letter, Sweeney said Facebook and Instagram disabled accounts he created to track Swift’s air travel, saying they violated the platforms’ privacy rules.
He then began posting updates about Swift’s flights on the account he uses to report on the travels of several stars, called Celeb Jets.
But last month, Morrone sent a second letter to Sweeney about his post about Swift’s trip, saying it constituted “disturbing behavior,” according to the Washington Post.
At the time the letter was sent, Swift was facing criticism for the environmental impact of her flight as she traveled across the country to visit boyfriend Travis Kelce. TheImageDirect.com
At that point, Sweeney said he contacted the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, which put him in touch with Slater.
The Florida-based attorney later wrote back to Morrone, stating that he had not identified any lawsuits.
He also said the jet information Sweeney shared online was “no threat” to Swift’s safety and that Sweeney’s account “engaged in protected speech that did not violate any of Ms. Swift’s legal rights.”
Slater said he has yet to receive a response.
The Post has also reached out to representatives for Swift, and to Slater for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
