Meta has banned a series of accounts that track the movements of private jets belonging to some of the world’s wealthiest people, including Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump.
The accounts, which are run by 21-year old college student Jack Sweeney, were removed from Threads and Instagram on Monday, with their Facebook counterparts also scheduled for deletion. Sweeney has previously irked Musk and pop megastar Taylor Swift, who both threatened to take legal action against the student.
Censorship has emerged as one of the biggest political issues of the post-Trump era, and will prove a key battleground as the clock counts down to the 2024 Presidential Election. By the same token, climate change has divided the US along partisan lines for decades. Meta’s intervention marks a significant foray into this complex arena – and shows that social media has become a modern kingmaker.
Meta Bans Jet-Tracking Accounts
On Monday, Meta announced that social media accounts tracking private jets belonging to the likes of Trump, Musk, Zuckerberg, and more, had been permanently removed. Citing “a risk of physical harm” to the individuals in question, the company claimed that the accounts violated its privacy policy, TechCrunch reports.
In response, Sweeney posted “today feels like December 15th 2022” from his personal account, referencing the time that Musk suspended his @ElonJet account, which was dedicated to tracking the tech mogul’s jet activity. Memorably, Musk had tweeted: “My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk” on November 6 – only to reverse his decision a month later.
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Visitors to the Instagram and Threads account were greeted by an error message on Monday night, which read: “The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.” Other celebrities whose movements have been publicized by Sweeney include Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Kylie Jenner, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Jet Tracker Not Remorseful
Sweeney previously defended his accounts during a Signal conversation with NBC News, stating: “It has journalistic value, reveals obviously many parts of a CEO’s work or what partnerships may occur. Now not only that, but also it brings awareness to the very fact they are flying and the climate side.”
The student has ruffled more than a few feathers in recent years. As mentioned, Musk banned one of his accounts in 2022, while lawyers representing Swift threatened legal action earlier this year, asserting that the tracking amounts to “stalking.”
Then, in May, President Biden signed a bill that gives private jet owners the right to anonymize their registration information. Much to Swift and co’s chagrin, however, their aircrafts can still be tracked relatively easily. On the legislation, Sweeney remarked: “It’s kind of annoying, but it’s not a big deal,” drawing attention to other “clues” that “aviation-savvy” people can piece together.
Social Media Now the Engine of Partisan Politics
This story exists at the intersection of two of the most divisive issues of our time – free speech and climate change – played out on the stage of social media.
Several high-profile bodies have moved to block the spread of misinformation ahead of the imminent election. In September, for example, TikTok overhauled its Election Center, while Vice President Harris has pushed for regulation to combat a surge in AI-generated “deepfakes.”
Two weeks ago, the White House turned to Reddit to share critical survival information in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene – with X proving a hotbed of conspiracy theorizing. Whatever the outcome on November 5, it’s now an inescapable fact that social media is shaping the US landscape – for the better and worse.
