Taylor Swift in trouble? Student who tracks her private jet hits back and challenges the legality of the case.

College student Jack Sweeney responded to the cease-and-desist letter that pop superstar Taylor Swift sent him in December, demanding he stop posting data about her private jet flights, by threatening legal action against him through his letter published on his Twitter account via his attorneys.

In the letter, Sweeney’s attorneys mention that ‘there is nothing illegal’ about monitoring Taylor Swift’s flights with publicly accessible information and that the singer’s legal representatives ‘failed to identify any legal claim’ and hope ‘this concludes the matter.’

Additionally, Sweeney’s attorneys from the Slater Legal PLLC firm mention that Sweeney has used the same information to monitor the flights of Elon Musk and other billionaires like some Russian oligarchs. ‘The @taylorswiftjets account is engaged in protected speech that does not violate any of Ms. Swift’s legal rights’ the letter states.

The carbon emissions have been the subject of debate
Sweeney operates the accounts using publicly available flight data from the Federal Aviation Administration and flight signals tracked by aviation enthusiasts. He also includes estimates of carbon emissions from each flight he tracks in his posts.

In response to the legal threat, Sweeney emphasized that he never intended any harm with his actions and stated that he believes in transparency and public information. He also noted the high public interest from Swift’s fans in the accounts, suggesting that she should expect her jet to be tracked regardless of his involvement.

Sweeney is no stranger to controversy, having previously drawn the ire of billionaire Elon Musk for tracking his jet travels online. Musk had his account, “@ElonJet,” on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter disbanded in December 2022, citing security concerns for himself and his family. However, Sweeney was later allowed back on the platform.