The Threads application by Meta remains in the spotlight even days after its launch, with a recent update revealing that Jack Sweeney, the renowned college student responsible for the “ElonJet” account, which tracks Elon Musk’s private jet, has now joined the Threads app.
Jack Sweeney, a programmer and owner of nearly 30 Twitter accounts that share publicly available data by tracking the flights of various prominent individuals worldwide, has gained significant popularity within the internet community.
After registering on the new platform, Threads, on Thursday, Sweeney posted on his account, stating, “ElonJet has arrived .” In another post, he directed a question to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, inquiring whether he would be permitted to use the Threads app.
Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter and became the owner of the social networking company, there has been a notable shift in Twitter’s stance towards Jack Sweeney. They have taken a negative approach by banning his accounts on the platform and issuing warnings about potential privacy-related lawsuits against him.
Following the suspension of Sweeney’s Twitter accounts, which were dedicated to tracking the flights of high-net-worth individuals and celebrities, Twitter reviewed and updated its policy regarding the sharing of private information online. Twitter deemed Sweeney’s actions as a breach of privacy and a violation of the platform’s rules.
The policy read: “Sharing private information can pose serious safety and security risks for those affected and can lead to physical, emotional, and financial hardship.”
In response to the incident where a car carrying Elon Musk’s 2-year-old son was followed by an individual who mistakenly believed Musk was inside, Musk announced his intention to pursue legal action against Jack Sweeney. Musk described the person involved as a “crazy stalker” who not only followed the car but also obstructed its movement and climbed onto the hood.
Is tracking flights an invasion of privacy?
In the meantime, a significant online community has rallied behind Jack Sweeney, asserting that he did not engage in any illegal activities and that he simply provided the public with information that was already available in the public domain. They argue that Sweeney’s actions were within the bounds of sharing publicly accessible data.
To track the flights of renowned individuals, Jack Sweeney relies on data from sources such as the Federal Aviation Administration, OpenSky Network, and Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast. By utilizing information from these platforms, Sweeney gathers the necessary data to provide insights into the flight movements of well-known individuals.
Sweeney and Russia Ukraine war
Jack Sweeney has garnered support for his actions concerning the Russia-Ukraine war. In response to the US and its allies imposing sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, Sweeney created the Russian Oligarch Jets account.
This account has attracted a large following, with hundreds of thousands of followers who are interested in the movements of billionaires like Roman Abramovich and Vladimir Potanin.
Sweeney uses a program that receives ADS-B broadcasts from planes, which provide information about their positions and speed. He employs a similar method to track the yachts owned by these oligarchs.
