Flight Tracking Accounts on Instagram and Threads Get Shut Down

Jack Sweeney, a Florida college student, found out that many of his flight-tracking accounts were disabled on Monday. These accounts, on Instagram and Threads, had been monitoring the private jets of famous people like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Kim Kardashian. The reason given by Meta, the company that owns these platforms, was that these accounts violated their privacy policy. They pointed out the potential risk of physical harm to these celebrities. Sweeney mentioned on his personal account that this felt similar to December 15, 2022, when Elon Musk suspended his @ElonJet account on Twitter. Sweeney's account tracking Taylor Swift’s jet was also disabled on Friday.

Meta representatives told TechCrunch that the accounts were shut down due to the risk of physical harm to individuals. This decision aligns with the independent Oversight Board’s recommendation. Tracking private jets of high-profile people is still pretty easy, despite recent changes. In May, President Joe Biden signed a bill allowing private aircraft owners to hide their registration details. Even with this law, tracking continues through tips from other flight-tracking enthusiasts.

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