In late December, Swift’s camp hit Jack Sweeney, a junior studying information technology at the University of Central Florida, with a cease-and-desist letter that blamed his automated tracking of her private jet for tipping off stalkers as to her location. In the letter, attorneys from the law firm Venable accused Sweeney of effectively providing “individuals intent on harming her, or with nefarious or violent intentions, a roadmap to carry out their plans.”
Sweeney provided the link to that letter in an email to the Associated Press. In that message, he emphasized that while he has never intended to cause harm, he also believes strongly in the importance of transparency and public information.
“One should reasonably expect that their jet will be tracked, whether or not I’m the one doing it, as it is public information after all,” he wrote.
A spokesperson for Swift echoed the legal complaint, saying that “the timing of stalkers” suggests a connection to Sweeney’s flight-tracking sites. The spokesperson did not respond to questions seeking elaboration of that charge, such as whether stalkers have been seen waiting for Swift at the airport when her plane arrived or, alternatively, if there is evidence that stalkers have somehow inferred Swift’s subsequent location from the arrival time of her flight.
The legal letter likewise accuses Sweeney of “disregarding the personal safety of others”; “willful and repeated harassment of our client”; and “intentional, offensive, and outrageous conduct and consistent violations of our client’s privacy.”
Such statements are difficult to square with the fact that Sweeney’s automated tracking accounts merely repackage public data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration, a government agency. That fact did not dissuade the Venable attorneys, who demanded that Sweeney “immediately stop providing information about our client’s location to the public.”
The stalker argument is absolute bullshit. A stalker would most likely not use the flight path of Swift’s private jet as a means of stalking her; it would be too cumbersome. Additionally, this is not “willful and repeated harassment” of Swift since Mr. Sweeny, as stated in the title and the article, obtained the information from public date provided by FAA. The intent of Mr. Sweeny’s tracking project was not to expose Swift to nefarious individuals but to expose the environmental impact of her private jet. The rich and famous are public figures and, as such, are open to criticism from the public. This is merely a flex (and a futile one at that) by someone with the resources to silence critics.
Yeah and how many different ways would a stalker have to find a famous person. She goes to concerts and events all the time, the stalkers know where those places are.
Actually surprised no one here is launching themselves to defend her like they didn’t defend Elon on this. Haha.
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Probably not a big overlap with lemmy and taylor fan worshippers. Still not a mainstream site and she’s absolutely positively a mainstream music artist.
Twitter is probably a war zone I don’t think the 3 swifties on Lemmy care.
Can confirm. Love her but she shouldn’t be flying a private jet. Nobody needs that
She’s been anti piracy and streaming to an astonishing degree and her concert ticket prices show what’s wrong with everything entertainment right now. I reckon that alone doesn’t sit well with the lemmy crowd who I believe are not the typical swift fans to begin with.
Hey, Ms Swift…? I love some of your music and political opinions. But can you please go fuck yourself? Public = public. You have more privileges than most working people will ever earn in a lifetime, combined. And the climate emergency WE are all experiencing is irreversible…
Oh it’s reversible all right… Earth will right the ship in its own time, after we’re gone
That fully depends on your definition of what the “reversed” state is. Will ecosystems adapt to the changed climate? Yes. Can temperatures even drop again? Sure. But species lost are gone forever. Ecosystems destroyed will never be the same again. Different ones can develop with enough time and stopping the human interference… But that is hardly “reversible”. That is… natural systems covering up the damage. Going on. Not reversing it.
Carlin said it best. We’re not worried about saving the planet. We’re worried about saving ourselves. When the time comes, “she’s gonna shake us off like a bad case o’ fleas.”
I have a legitimate question: why is this public information? Like… I’m not taking sides either way, I just don’t understand the reason that the current location of someone’s private property (her jet) is considered public info. They location of someone’s car or boat isn’t publicly available… So why a plane?
I understand that flight controllers need access to this info for logistics, but that’s not really public. They also need access to air waves for communication and those are heavily regulated.
This system is called ADS-B. It’s a peer to peer communication between airplanes where each plane will share its own data (flight level, speed, coordinates, flight number, etc.) and data from other planes by broadcasting it on same frequency as others. Result of this is that all the planes know where other nearby planes are located and their heading thus providing additional safety in avoiding collisions and other issues.
Data being broadcast in all directions means us on the ground can listen to them as well, which is what some sites are doing. Add internet to that mixture and we have a world coverage of every plane on the planet. You might wonder why data is not encrypted or something similar. There’s nothing that can be abused about the data and all this tracking helps enormously with resolving incidents and other useful functionalities like precise arrival estimates and similar.
Now, since every airplane has a registration number, people figured out which plane was hers. Just like they know which plane Musk uses and many others. Data is recorded and known and completely legal, helpful even. If she has issues with this fact solution is rather simple. Get a charter flight or rent a plane and no one is the wiser. This is just rich people entitlement and the only way she can “win” this court case is to go a step further in stepping over the line which is to drown the poor man with legal expenses.
Edit: Oh, also location of boats is known. Not all boats, but commercial ones for sure. Their system is called AIS.
Thank you! This is exactly the kind of info I was wanting to see.
Part of the answer is “it’s always been that way”. All this is done in coordination with the FTC and there are certain frequencies assigned for aerial radio communication. It’s not just done on 2.4GHz to be cheap like Wi-Fi / microwaves / etc.
Since the long-long-ago planes have been required to have their registered tail number visible. So if you do something not okay someone can find you and talk to you about it. After all cars are (mostly) limited to roads, boats are limited to waterways (and also have to have a name/number visible somewhere), planes can go anywhere and be annoying.
Radio communication to/from planes is just ‘in the clear’. It’s not encrypted because there isn’t/wasn’t a reason for it to be and for a long time it wasn’t even possible. Encrypting it offers no benefit and many potential downsides. It’s one more thing that can go wrong when you have a problem and need to talk to someone.
When tracking was upgraded to transponders ( a small radio dedicated to sending out info about who you are ) all that just stayed the same. They transmit a code you set and your altitude (and other info including tail number for newer ones/requirements after 2020 (just a coincidental year, the upgrade was planned years in advance)) so Air Traffic Control can say “Bugsmasher 123 turn left please”. Radar is expensive, a device in the plane constantly broadcasting “plane here” is significantly simpler and cheaper to track. Most airports don’t have Primary Radar.
ATC doesn’t care about your tail number for tracking anything other that what to call you to get your attention on the radio. For your current flight, if you are using Flight Following (talking to ATC so they know where you are) or filing an Instrument Flight plan, they give you a semi-random transponder code for that flight. That is what they use for logistics. They don’t care who you are, they care where you’re going and when you’re going to get there.
Tracking a tail number isn’t much different from the <1900s version, which would be “weird the Mayflower is in port in Boston” or something.
Radio communication to/from planes is just ‘in the clear’. It’s not encrypted because there isn’t/wasn’t a reason for it to be and for a long time it wasn’t even possible. Encrypting it offers no benefit and many potential downsides. It’s one more thing that can go wrong when you have a problem and need to talk to someone.
There’s tons of radio chatter one can listen to that’s just blasted into the air with zero enceyption that you can pick up with an inexpensive radio scanner or SDR. Tons of first responders haven’t updated to digital or encrypted radios (this will vary by state and municipality), railroad radio communication is often in the clear, as are boats and of course aircraft. There’s a public database of crowd sources frequencies here:
Safety against air collisions.
Excuse my ignorance, but if her legal team decided to sue him into the ground, there’s virtually nothing he could do about it, right? There’s no recourse to protect “the little guy” from being legally bullied? Would his best bet be to find someone willing to work pro bono with potential to countersue for damages?
Yes civil suits, if her pockets are deep enough she can sue and appeal and bury anyone and any lawyers that might defend him. She does run the risk for nonsense lawsuits that the defendant’s lawyers can collect all attorney fees at the end of it, so a rich pest suing people might lose millions in their own lawyers fees plus pay for defendants attorneys.
But a small person puts a lot at risk and there is no reward (just not owing anything). So you might settle just to cut losses and remove whatever from Internet. If you are rich, you might settle and pay someone falsely accusing you just to limit losses to lawyers and also get case sealed and an NDA as part of settlement.
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To be fair, Elon did buy Twitter to ban him from the service.
Which worked so well to stop him…
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this shit is psychotic to me, why is this even a thing corpos/individuals are allowed to do?
Your options at that point are settle, immediately, do the nissan uzi strat, waste ten years of your life, and millions of dollars. Or just stop existing.
I guess there are some counters to this in court, but im guessing you’re gonna have a hard time countering good lawyers with DEEP pockets behind them. Good luck finding someone to do a percent cut on that one.
Yeah, I’d have to agree with you there. Almost seems like there should be legal “weight classes” (and no picking fights under your “weight”)
Lol, I love that article. The author clearly also thinks that Taylor and her goons are full of shit on this one. Like, it’s public information provided by the FAA. Will they sue the FAA then?
Maybe the FAA is unconstitutional.
Probably all of the letter agencies cross that line.
No, they don’t. They were created by acts of Congress to be run by the Executive branch.
She also sold her jet which I’m guessing is related. She had a dessault falcon 900lx registered as N898TS but she very recently sold it to a company in Missouri.
I don’t suppose it’s to Swaylor Tift Aviation is it?
That would make it absolutely impossible to track and link to her.
Nope she has no use for it anymore. She’s gonna buy a whole fucking new one because Travis Kelce is too tall for the old one.
But seriously though, can’t they just register the jet under some conspicuous shit and dodge all of this? I mean, she may be the money of the operation but there has to be several levels of separation between her and operations. Pay a “transport company” that pays a “jet company” and make all the companies in between ambitious and under different sgel companies. Obviously this isn’t possible or the billionaires would have done it. But it would seem there is a way to hide their jets just like they hide their money.
Possible, yes, but costs money. And we all know billionaires hate giving away money.
If they see little PERSONAL benefit then it’s a waste to them. And likely cheaper to have their lawyers send cease&desist letters, than to have them setup the shell companies for anonymity.
Billionaires are all selfish. No way does someone aquire that much if they weren’t.
I’m so tired about hearing about this fake ass bish. Y’all know she’s racist, right?
I don’t think she is being a dick, as privacy is definitely important. But the tracking info is public knowledge, so you can’t really stop people from tracking you. Your private jet flies in public airspace, and that’s that.
In public, there is no expectation of privacy, least of all if you are a celebrity.
Nah. She is choosing to fly in a private jet. That data needs to be tracked and publicly available. She is free to take a tour bus.
Privacy is important, and transparency is important. It’s public knowledge for a reason, and to try to take legal action against the people who use it is worse than just “being a dick.”
“Waaahhhh people are tracking me in my private jet” she is 100% being a dick. Fly in a regular ass plane like normal people do and problem solved
That, uh, makes no sense. Regular ass planes are public. The point here is to remain private, not be even more public.
Lol problem definitely not solved, that’s making her even more public.
People would swarm her. She would probably cause a bunch of delays. She’s literally too famous to justify flying commercial.
Edit: she’s definitely complaining about someone simply relaying public information, but she can’t sit down at a football game without people parking themselves outside the door to the suite she’s in. There’s no way she could just chill in the back of C group with the rest of us.
Exactly. Her flight data should be public, definitely, but goddamn do I not want to be on a commercial flight with her. Flying is painful enough without all the craziness that would cause. I don’t even want to be in the same airport at the same time.
She’s not like us at all! She’s better because she’s a celebrity! They deserve special treatment…because!
When did I say she’s better than us or deserves special treatment?
She’s an insanely famous public figure. It’s the people who go crazy over her that are the problem. If given the choice between getting trampled by 100 people or taking a private plane, literally all of us would pick the same choice.
When did I say she’s better than us or deserves special treatment?
The part where you implied she is allowed privacy while the rest of us don’t.
I think a nice compromise would be to have a time delay on the data, so that live data is not readily available, for example 4 hours delay maybe
I thought that data was already delayed by 15-20 minutes.
Want us to compromise on anything else while we’re at it? Burning down the rainforest? Poisoning small children? Clearly you’re comfortable letting billionaires who shouldn’t exist have everything they want. What else can we do for you to facilitate the apocalypse?
Clearly those are all fair comparisons.
If the FAA doesn’t delay the data, why should anyone else?
Another point goes to the Streisand Effect.
Considering the amount of MAGA creeps around, I’d reserve judgement on that. She must get 10 credible death threats a day.
And now more MAGA creeps know about it, and more trackers will pop up. Streisand Effect.
All it takes is one. Everybody can track planes if they want to. This guy just makes it easy. Everybody knows about him since Musk.
OK is making it easy a threat worth doing something about, or simply making public info easier to find? You’re trying to have it both ways. Is it “just easier” or a real threat?
Pick one.
I don’t see your logic here.
“All it takes is one.”
“Anyone can track planes.”
pick one.
Again, I don’t see your logic.
Sucks to be her then. She could just not fly around in her private jet so much if she’s so worried.
Everyone has a job to do. Her’s forces her to travel a lot. Yours may not.
She’s got enough $$ she doesn’t HAVE to do anything the rest of her life and still live extremely comfortably.
Her “job” doesn’t force her to do shit.
You don’t walk in her shoes. You don’t know what is or should be important to her. She may be wealthy, but maybe her personal value is something other than what you think it should be.
Well apparently the planet isn’t important to her.
I don’t walk in her shoes. Yeah duh, if I did I wouldn’t be, because if I ever made 5 million I’d retire, buy a house, and live off interest comfortably the rest of my life. I don’t need any more than that (and technically don’t even need that, considering I don’t have it now and I’m not dead).
That’s you, not her. Like most successful people I suspect she has higher aspirations. Although I find her music a bit jingleistic, I suspect making it is important to her, perhaps even more than her bank account.
She has a 24/7, well paid security team. Most of America is a single $1000 emergency away from homelessness and financial ruin.
Fuck Taylor Swift and fuck idol worship.
You talk tough when you don’t have lunatics threatening your life. But, then you can, can’t you.
What the actual fuck is wrong with you? Taylor Swift isn’t your friend. She isn’t creeping around forums making a list of users that defend her. Her success was purchased by her rich father, her music is written and produced by a team of professionals who use scientifically proven methods to make sure the music is palatable to make the most money… Goddamn. Who defends the ultra rich?
It’s called empathy my friend. You should try some.
You misspelled psychosis.
You misspelled not caring about anyone.
Shut up simp. I don’t think you made this noise when musk did this.
Simp? Bwhahaha. Sorry I hit so close to the nerve.
What nerve, simp? Touch grass incel.
That’s a good one too. You have a nice day.
Please pay attention to our community rules, and tone down the insults.
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She uses her private jets (plural) a lot. Like, hundreds of lifetimes of carbon emissions a lot. There’s more than one reason she doesn’t want people looking.
Shhh you are saying the quiet part out loud.
It’s not fucking her. It’s her team. She probably isn’t even aware of it.
If someone works for you and does things in your name, you are responsible for those things and they can be fairly attributed to you.
Yeeeeah… I understand her not wanting it to be easier for stalkers to track her, but also private jets are a luxury that’s very bad for the environment, and the information is public anyway. Swift shouldn’t win this one.
Stalkers already can access this information. Also I’m expected to believe they get this information and somehow arrive at her destination before her?
If she has scheduled a concert in a particular city, they could already be there and just watch the planes.
But you’d think she has body guards for that.
So the legal complaint has no merit (even more so) if he just delays the feed by a day or two.
Maybe TayTay should ask the FAA to delay the data.
I wish people understand that if you have any public/online presence, pretty much you can get tracked, especially in this age where ordinary people can track someone from their fingertips (and devices), for example Elon’s Jet which get tracked too using public data.
It feels like when someone use Facebook (or any big services), skipped EULA, and then complain that they’re being tracked…
just my 2cent from average joe.
I find it chuckle worthy that half of this thread is just crying about people owning jets
So you think it’s ok to personally own a jet? It’s beyond greedy
I spend zero part of my day worrying about what other people own, to be honest
But you worry about downvotes, interesting priorities you have there
I also don’t worry about imaginary internet points. I’m not sure why what made you think that.
I’ll probably join you at the bottom of the dog pile but I have to say:
If I was a multi-millionaire with enough money for a private jet, I would 100% own and travel with a private jet.
1st class?? Pfft what am I, a peasant? No, I’m flying in my private plane where I don’t have to fuck with TSA and customs meets me at the bottom of the steps when I arrive.
I’d fly anywhere longer than a 3 hour drive and I’d probably buy a helicopter for those pesky short trips. I don’t have time for traffic. Actually, if I had that much money I’d have enough time for whatever the fuck I wanted, but I wouldn’t want to sit in traffic–and what’s a $5k helicopter ride downtown?
Everyone on here acting all sanctimonious about their environmental impact would be on a private jet next week if they won the lottery today.
Speaking of which, I’m gonna go buy a lotto ticket.
Yeah I’m not sure what people are expecting rich people to do, fly coach on spirit airlines?
Would the average person, suddenly handed $1 billion, increase their environmental impact? Almost certainly.
Public criticism of excessive impact can act as a moderating factor on this aspect of human nature.
Let’s fight the probable evil of our hypothetical selves by being vocal on unnecessary excesses of the rich and famous.
Considering the pollution they produce and the extreme wealth diaparity, id say its a fair gripe
And if that were the topic, it would make sense to spend time griping about it here
What makes you think its NOT the topic?
I read the actual topic
Did you read the article?
It’s not about CO2 emissions
The lack of nuance in any discussion on Lemmy is making me less and less interested in comment sections.
