Jack Sweeney, a student who tracks the private jets of A-listers, announced that Meta has suspended multiple Instagram and Threads accounts he runs.
In a statement titled “Jet Tracking on Instagram and Threads got Zucked” — which he shared on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account on Oct. 22 — Sweeney says all of his jet tracking accounts have been “blacked out” by a company owned by Mark Zuckerberg, one of the celebrities whose flights he documented.
“My Instagram and Threads account, @elonmusksjet, have been suspended again. Unlike previous suspensions, where warnings or status updates were given along with reasons, this time the account simply appears blacked out, with no options to interact or receive information,” the statement said. “What makes this even more troubling is that I have received no communication from Meta—no warning, no explanation.”
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Jack Sweeney.
Jack Sweeney/X
Sweeney first gained notoriety for tracking Elon Musk’s private jet on the now-deleted X account, ElonJet, using publicly available flight path data and then sharing that information with his followers, according to the BBC.
In addition to following Elon Musk, he had Instagram accounts that followed Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg — all of whom have been suspended, Sweeney said in his statement.
“I have been following the jets on Instagram for a long time and about 10 months ago my Taylor Swift (@taylorswiftjets) account was suspended. However, my other plane tracking accounts continued to perform just fine, showing a clear case of selective enforcement.”
He continues: “Regardless of intent, this situation reflects badly on the Met. I’ve had a total of 38 accounts suspended on platforms like X and Threads. The behavior is consistent: these platforms operate non-transparently and seem to make arbitrary decisions.”
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In December 2022 — after Musk was bought by X for $44 billion — Sweeney confirmed that all 30 of his plane-tracking accounts on the platform were “permanently suspended,” according to an article he wrote for Newsweek.
Sweeney calls out X in his Oct. 22 statement for using the same “disturbing” techniques as Meta.
“X, for example, continues to use the same tactics as the old Twitter; the only difference now is who is in charge. Ironically, Elon Musk, who once criticized Twitter for its lack of free speech, is now using the same techniques — shadow banning of plane tracking accounts and blocking links to public information that follows his plane,” it writes.
He concludes the statement by asking if only Meta decided to suspend his accounts and notes that he was “ironically” working to build his presence on Threads.
“Something obviously started this wave of suspensions, but as of now I’m left with no answers,” he says.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Meta shared, “Given the risk of physical harm to individuals and in accordance with the recommendation of an independent oversight committee, we have disabled these accounts for violating our privacy policies.
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Sweeney, who is currently studying information technology, grew up in Orlando and is “the son of an airline maintenance operations controller and a schoolteacher,” which inspired him to pursue an interest in jet tracking, the BBC reports.
Although he told the outlet in February that he strives to be “fair” and “share information with everyone no matter who it is,” his passion has led celebrities like Swift and Musk to threaten legal action.
PEOPLE reached out to Sweeney for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
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Source: HIS Education