Meta bans accounts tracking jets of prominent businessmen over safety concerns

Mark Zuckerberg's social media company Meta on Tuesday banned several accounts that tracked the private jets of some of the most powerful people in the world, including former President Donald Trump, Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk.

Musk, who owns the social media platform X, previously banned the account on his site in 2022 because it allegedly violated the company's rules against doxxing. He also banned accounts that monitored Zuckerberg's and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' private jets.

Meta's communications director Andy Stone told NBC News that the company made the decision to ban the accounts because of "the risk of physical harm to individuals." He also cited a recommendation from the company's oversight board about references to an individual’s residences, which Meta has taken more broadly to mean "personally identifiable information."

The accounts are operated by a college student named Jack Sweeney in Florida. Sweeney said the accounts provide insight into the movements of the businessmen and celebrities, and shed light on the celebrity's impact on climate change by flying privately.

“[The accounts have] journalistic value, [reveal] obviously many parts of a CEOs work or what partnerships may occur," he told NBC. "Now not only that, but also it brings awareness to the very fact they are flying and the climate side."

Sweeney was briefly shut down on X in 2022, but created new accounts that post the flights on a one-day delay, which still exist. Sweeney said he does not plan to create delayed accounts for Meta platforms.

The accounts have now been removed from Threads and Instagram, and will be deleted from Facebook shortly.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.