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Taylor Swift threatens legal action against student tracking her private jet
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2024
222 points (94.0% liked)
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Flight information is public. Sorry you don't like that, but suing this student won't change the availability of that information, and anyone could take their place in running a bot.
true, but for a layperson it requires a lot more effort and knowledge to find that information manually over visiting a single twitter profile. and if one bot creator is successfully sued it could discourage future attempts
Easier solution: stop using private jets. It's good for the planet too.
It's not feasible for possibly the worlds biggest artist right now to ride coach... She would take up the entire flight regardless with entourage and gear.
And that's just ignoring the security aspect
I ...don't care?
Troubleshooting billionaires' problems is super low in my list of priorities.
It is not necessary that someone be "the worlds biggest [commercial] artist". That's literally Swift selling everyone else out to cash in and personally benefit from the destruction of our communal resources. For her personal benefit. That is exactly the fucking problem, you can't hold that up to defend her choices.
They won't be, because Elon failed at this already. Use of public information isn't illegal. Aggregating and sharing that public information elsewhere or in a different format isn't illegal (and is likely protected speech).
If she's experienced some kind of harm, it's not because the bot exists, it's because the public information exists.
(Also, it's absurdly easy to track a plane. Search for "live flight tracker" on your favorite search engine, and take your pick.)
Additionally, if the person in question used pooled leased planes it would be much harder to track them. Swift and Musk always use the same planes so they are easy to track.
FYI - the Elon Musk flight tracker is alive and well on Mastodon.
Why should anyone discourage people sharing information which is freely available?
I came across this site a few years ago. So, well within the capabilities of basically anyone. Just for free to all with no login, they allow you to search for any call sign and show it on a map, complete with path from originating airport.
They have a free account allowing you to do more with a single plane and 25 planes for US$40/year. Android and iOS apps available.
The most recent information I can get with a simple Google search shows that the call sign of one of her planes is N621MM, although other links suggested that she has more than one plane and has sold planes to escape this tracking.
Knock yourself out. Post it all over the damn place. Streisand effect FTW.
I'm really confused why you got downvoted so heavily. If I'm reading your comment correctly you were just trying to point out the utility (to a wealthy asshole) of suing a bot creator. Rich people use lawsuits to silence their critics there's even a specific protection in California against that type of lawsuit.
that was indeed my main point! i think others wrongly assumed i supported the legal action