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668

Taylor Swift launches legal broadside at a college student who tracks private jets via public data (www.seattletimes.com)

submitted 2 years ago by GlitzyArmrest@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

279 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.”

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[–] Empricorn@feddit.nl 53 points 2 years ago (1 children)

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...

[–] crystalmerchant@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Oh it's reversible all right... Earth will right the ship in its own time, after we're gone

[–] Dragonseel@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

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.

[–] Reddfugee42@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

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."

[–] guylikeyouandme@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Venus did not for example. Absolutely no reason why earth couldn't spiral out of control in the same way.