Several Threads accounts showing publicly available data on the private jet travel of some of the world’s richest and most famous people have been silenced.
The year-old social media platform owned by Meta abruptly took down on Monday an account showing the flight path of a private jet owned by Meta CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, as well as several other accounts showing similar data about private jets. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner use it. On Friday, an account tracking Taylor Swift’s jet was also suspended.
All of the accounts were managed by Jack Sweeney, a college student who rose to public prominence when Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 and banned jet tracker accounts of the same type, including one where Sweeney tracked Musk’s own jets. Sweeney eventually moved much of his jet-tracking activity to Threads after a dispute with Musk.
Posted in Thread from personal accountSweeney said all Jet Tracker accounts he maintained on the Meta platform have been suspended over the past few days. The two accounts exclude the jet account used by former President Donald Trump and the jet account used by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“It’s very strange,” Sweeney added. Soon after, Trump and DeSantis’ jet accounts were also suspended.
All private jet data that appears on Sweeney’s Threads account is publicly available and maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration, but sharing the information through social media has sparked the ire of many famous jet owners. Their privacy.
Despite their political opposition, Musk and Swift threatened Sweeney with a lawsuit, referring to Jet’s account as “assassination coordinates” (Musk) and “acts of stalking and harassment” (Swift).
Sweeney’s records do not show exactly where the plane or its passengers were traveling. Neither Musk nor Swift have taken formal legal action against him.
In a text message with Fortune, Sweeney said he received “zero” opportunity or explanation to appeal. “When I log in, it’s just black.”
A representative for Meta did not respond to an email seeking comment.
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