Jack Sweeney, the 21-year-old college student, who was sent a cease and desist letter from Taylor Swift's lawyer after tracking her private jet, has sent his response against the legal threat. He took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared the letter his lawyers sent with a reference to one of the popstar's songs, as per a report in the New York Post. "Look What You Made Me Do," Mr Sweeney wrote in the caption, referring to the 2017 song from her "Reputation" album.
Taylor Swift's attorney accused Mr Sweeney of engaging in "stalking and harassing behaviours" over his tracking of the American singer's jet activity. Attorney Katie Wright Morrone's letter said, "While this may be a game to you, or an avenue that you hope will earn you wealth or fame, it is a life-or-death matter for our Client."
However, Mr Sweeney's legal team claimed that Ms Morrone had not been able to find any evidence of a lawsuit against their client for using his "protected speech" and publishing Federal Aviation Administration data that is accessible to the public. "Put simply, there is nothing unlawful about (Sweeney's) use of publicly accessible information to track private jets, including those used by public figures like Taylor Swift," attorney James Slater of Slater Legal PLLC said. The lawyer noted that he had also used the same data to publish information about Elon Musk's private jets.
"The @taylorswiftjets account is engaged in protected speech that does not violate any of Ms. Swift's legal rights. Your letter makes that clear by failing to identify any legal claim," he added.
The sole legal allegation that Ms Morrone raised was a California stalking legislation, but even in that case, the definition of a stalker is defined as someone who poses a "credible threat" to the victim, which Mr Sweeney has never done so, as per his lawyer. Additionally, Mr Slater stated that Swift's safety is not in danger due to the information revealing the whereabouts of private planes. "We do not know why you believed the best claim against an individual in Florida and his company is a California statute, but that, combined with the absence of any credible legal claim, suggests a groundless effort to intimidate and censor our clients," he concluded.
Mr Sweeney told CNN earlier that he never intended any harm with his actions, noting that he is compiling "public information". "I actually think Swift has some good songs," the college student said. "I believe in transparency and public information," he added.
He also went on to say that there is high public interest from Swift's fans in the accounts. She could have a "decent expectation" that her jet will be tracked "whether or not I do it," he added
