Jack Sweeney, a junior at the University of Central Florida, has been known to track the whereabouts of famous celebrities. The famous celebrities he has tracked include Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and now Taylor Swift.
Sweeney is able to track the location of these high-profile people by using publicly available data from the Federal Aviation Administration reporting landings and takeoffs of the privately owned planes/helicopters of the celebrities.
Sweeney views this as a harmless act due to no illegal action taking place. He claims to only use public data that can be viewed by anyone. However, Taylor Swift views this as an invasion of privacy and is concerned for her safety.
In an article published by the New York Post, Taylor Swift’s attorney claims Sweeney’s accounts caused Swift and her family “direct and irreparable harm, as well as emotional and physical distress” and had heightened the “Fearless” singer’s “constant state of fear for her personal safety.
In this same article on the New York Post, Sweeney states “Nowhere do I intend to harm. I actually think Swift has some good songs. I believe in transparency and public information”. Regardless, Swift has threatened to take legal action against Sweeney if he does not stop.
Should Sweeney continue to track Taylor Swift for the fans? Or should Taylor take legal action?
