Sweeney, currently in his third year of an information technology degree, built his system using publicly available data collected by aviation enthusiasts. Planes regularly emit signals about their location, picked up by ground receivers. This practice is part of the Osint (open-source intelligence) community, where individuals explore freely available online data for various purposes.
Initially a hobby, Sweeney's project evolved into a commitment to transparency and public information. He also sees an environmental angle, believing that some flyers try to hide the environmental impact of their carbon emissions.
However, his data usage has sparked legal threats and privacy concerns. Taylor Swift, in particular, argues that revealing the location of her private plane jeopardizes her safety. Sweeney disagrees, pointing to Swift's own fans who follow tracking accounts out of genuine interest.
While Swift's lawyers claim plane tracking is a "life-or-death matter," Sweeney contends that there's a fundamental public interest. He suggests that if privacy is Swift's top concern, she could register her jet anonymously. Despite legal pressures, Sweeney maintains he's not doing anything unlawful.
It remains to be seen how Swift's fandom will react to this latest development. The clash between transparency and privacy in the age of online tracking continues to raise questions about the limits of public information and the rights of individuals, even high-profile celebrities.