{"id":49684,"date":"2022-12-12T22:59:09","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T22:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packetstormsecurity.com\/news\/view\/34132\/Musk-The-Anti-Censorship-Crusader-Allegedly-Shadowbanned-An-Account-Tracking-His-Private-Jet.html"},"modified":"2022-12-12T22:59:09","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T22:59:09","slug":"musk-the-anti-censorship-crusader-allegedly-shadowbanned-an-account-tracking-his-private-jet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/musk-the-anti-censorship-crusader-allegedly-shadowbanned-an-account-tracking-his-private-jet\/","title":{"rendered":"Musk, The Anti-Censorship Crusader, Allegedly Shadowbanned An Account Tracking His Private Jet"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sweeney, a first-year student at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, says he uses publicly available transponder data from Musk\u2019s private plane to track its location. That data, which includes the plane\u2019s altitude, latitude, longitude, and heading are then fed into an algorithm he created. The @ElonJet bot then takes that information and Tweets out when Musk takes off and lands.<\/p>\n

Hours after he published his thread and after Gizmodo and other media organizations commented on his allegations, Sweeney published a new tweet<\/a><\/span> saying it appeared Twitter had lifted its restrictions. <\/p>\n

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\u201cIt appears @ElonJet is longer banned or hidden in anyway,\u201d Sweeney wrote. \u201cI think Twitter noticed my tweets and back tracked.\u201d Sweeney published a screenshot from a service purporting to track the status of supposedly shadowbanned. Gizmodo was unable to independently confirm those tests and Twitter did not respond to a follow up request for comment. <\/p>\n

Though similar trackers exist for other major figures like Mark Zuckerberg<\/a><\/span>, Drake, and Jeff Bezos, ElonJet stands apart because it\u2019s managed to draw the sustained ire of its target. Back in January, Sweeney told The New York Times<\/em><\/a><\/span> <\/em>Musk personally reached out to him over DMs asking him to remove the bot in exchange for $5,000. Sweeney counter offered, saying he would consider deactivating the account for $50,000 or even an internship at one of Musk\u2019s companies. Musk, who\u2019s said he believes social media accounts tracking his whereabouts are \u201csecurity issues,\u201d reportedly<\/a><\/span> cut off communications with the teen.<\/p>\n

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Months later, Musk officially announced he intended to acquire Twitter, leading many to wonder if the billionaire would move to ban Sweeney\u2019s bot account. At the time, Sweeney said<\/a><\/span> he was making backup plans to keep the bot active on other platforms, \u201cin case this [Twitter] account disappears.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Given Musk\u2019s inconsistent rantings in favor of free speech<\/a><\/span> and repeated criticisms of Twitter\u2019s past content moderation philosophy, it was unclear whether he would take action against the account once he officially owned the platform. Musk addressed the issue in early November, saying<\/a><\/span> he would ban the @ElonJet account due to free speech principles. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk,\u201d Musk said in the Tweet. <\/p>\n

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Sweeney replied to the tweet, thanking Musk for his decision and saying the majority of his accounts followers were actually supporters of Musk and his companies.<\/p>\n

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Gizmodo reached out to Twitter for comment on Sweeney\u2019s claims but has not heard back. Twitter\u2019s communications team reportedly<\/a><\/span> endured major cuts as part of the company\u2019s 3,700 personal layoffs.<\/p>\n

Sweeney\u2019s claims as Musk continues to publicize the so-called \u201cTwitter Files<\/a><\/span>\u201d which, amongst other things, have publicized internal documents displaying Twitter\u2019s approach to restricting<\/a><\/span> a certain account\u2019s visibility. <\/p>\n

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Update 12\/12\/2022, 4:20 p.m. ET:<\/em><\/strong> Added new information from Sweeney. <\/p>\n