Too much talk about freedom of expression until it comes up against one’s own freedom. Elon Musk announced that it will take legal action against the creator of ElonJet, the Twitter account that tracked travel on his plane.
Both ElonJet and the personal account of Jack Sweeney, its 20-year-old creator, were permanently suspended from the social network for “violating the rules against platform manipulation and spam.”
Sweeney used the ADS-B system, automatic dependent surveillance, monitoring the flight paths.
Elon Musk’s legal measures against the creator of ElonJet
The billionaire said that “Legal action is being taken against Sweeney and the organizations that supported the harm to my family.” It is based on an episode suffered by rapper Lil X in Los Angeles, where a person jumped on the hood of his car thinking it was Elon Musk’s.
“Any account that provides real-time location information of any person will be suspended, as it is a breach of physical security.” Musk continued.
Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info.
Posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn’t a safety problem, so is ok.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 15, 2022
This includes posting links to sites with real-time location information. Posting locations that someone traveled to with a slight delay isn’t a security issue, so that’s okay.”
It has not specified what kind of legal measures it will take.
Jack Sweeney, a stone in the shoe of Elon Musk and other technological leaders
Sweeney, a student at the University of Central Florida, ran both ElonJet and other accounts that tracked the private jets of Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Drake, among other personalities. He also tracked NASA aircraft movements and weather monitoring hardware.
Once a fan of Elon Musk, Sweeney received a $5,000 offer from the mogul to leave the ElonJet account. The young man tried to renegotiate, but the magnate closed the doors in his face.
The young man talked with BuzzFeed News after the suspension was announced: “I am quite surprised, especially after he published a tweet saying that he would not do it. But I guess after the last shock at the weekend, he’s probably not too happy about all that.”
Freedom of expression… as appropriate
Musk has been pushing a series of Twitter Files, which brings together the decisions of former executives. to sanction and make invisible accounts considered “uncomfortable”, such as that of former President Donald Trump or critics of anti-COVID-19 measures.
For Sweeney, Musk’s decisions against him “just show that he can play by the rules however he wants; actually, for whoever he wants ”.
The young student points out that he will continue his monitoring of Elon Musk’s flights on other platforms. In addition, he said that he will work on a version of ElonJet’s website. “It’s important to hold people accountable, no matter what side they’re on,” Sweeney says.