Taylor Swift Ready to Take Legal Action Against College Student

Jack Sweeney, 21, is a junior at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando. The college student has made headlines multiple times in the last few years because of his flight tracking accounts. Now, he’s back in the headlines after Taylor Swift’s legal team threatened to sue him.

According to The Washington Post, Swift’s attorney at the Washington law office, Venable, sent Sweeney a cease-and-desist letter because he was tracking the singer’s plane. The attorney’s letter states that the law firm would have to “pursue any and all legal remedies” if the college student refused to stop his “stalking and harassing behavior.”

Sweeney uses publicly available information to track planes and helicopters owned by wealthy people and celebrities. Then, he shares the information on various accounts. In 2022, Sweeney began a free speech debate when he began tracking the whereabouts of Elon Musk’s plane and posting the coordinates on X, formerly Twitter. When the billionaire discovered what the student was doing, he suspended his account on X. That led to a conversation about whether Musk cared about the First Amendment, as he said he did.

In Swift’s case, attorney Katie Morrone claimed Sweeney’s plane tracking accounts were causing “emotional and physical distress.” Further, the lawyer said the singer was in a “constant state of fear for her personal safety.” Morrone went on to say that while Sweeney’s tracker might bring him “wealth or fame, it is a life-or-death matter” for the popular singer.

Swift is currently dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce while she performs on her “The Eras” tour. The media spotlight has been on her more than ever before. In January, a man was arrested outside of her Manhattan townhouse and is now facing harassment and stalking charges.

Sweeney stated the data is publicly available and criticized Swift’s legal team for allegedly thinking “they can control the world.”