In a significant move this week, Meta has imposed a ban on various accounts that tracked the private jet travels of high-profile figures, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and other celebrities.
This latest action follows a previous ban on the ElonJet account by X, formerly known as Twitter, which has prohibited the account since December 2022. Interestingly, X does allow a version of ElonJet that posts the jet’s movements on a 24-hour delay.
Meta Enforces Ban on Celebrity Jet Tracking Accounts
As of this week, real-time jet tracking accounts have been effectively banned across Meta’s platforms. A spokesperson for Meta explained, “Given the risk of physical harm to individuals, and in accordance with the independent Oversight Board’s recommendations, we’ve disabled these accounts for violating our privacy policy.”
The ban was verified by college student Jack Sweeney, who previously operated the ElonJet account on X before it was suspended. He reported that Meta did not contact him prior to the suspension of all his jet tracking accounts.
Sweeney remarked, “Today feels like December 15, 2022,” referencing the day his Twitter account was controversially removed after a policy change by the platform. Following that incident, Sweeney transitioned many of his jet tracking accounts to Meta-owned channels.
Using publicly available ADS-B flight tracking data, which is mandated by the FAA, Sweeney monitored celebrity flights. Despite Meta’s privacy concerns, the data does not disclose passenger identities or specifics about their flight itineraries.
“It’s surprising how tracking publicly available information has become such a contentious issue,” Sweeney stated on Threads. “My accounts on Instagram and Threads hadn’t violated any rules for years, with the exception of the Taylor Swift jet tracking account, which was removed following a request from her team last year.”
