Meta has joined X to ban the accounts of users tracking the flights of private jets belonging to billionaires.
In a Threads post on 22 October, a college student known as Jack Sweeney, who was banned on X reported that Meta has also kicked him off its platforms. He is known for managing accounts that track and report the flights of billionairesâ private jets.Â
Meta platforms affected
Sweeney, in his Threads post stated that his accounts on Instagram, Threads, as well as other Meta platforms, have been deleted for tracking private jets.Â
âJet Tracking on Instagram and Threads got Zucked. Today brings a sense of dĂ©jĂ vu, reminiscent of all my accounts getting suspended on Twitter. As the day progressed, all of my other tracking accounts celebrityjets, kimkjet, kyliejennerjet, bezosjets, zuckerbergjet â were suspended,â
The embattled college student lamented that no details were given as to why his accounts were suspended, neither was he given an option to appeal or reactivate the accounts.
A case of selective justice
Sweeney also noted in his post that while his accounts reporting on the use of private jets by celebrities like Taylor Swift were swiftly blocked, similar accounts tracking public figures like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis were left alone.
He accused Meta of being selective in its enforcement, because the other accounts were only taken down when a user drew the attention of the company to the fact that they had not been blocked.
Tracking of private jets may have been motivated by the fact that some of the celebrities are strong advocates of reducing carbon footprints, most of which is caused by air travel, and Sweeney is not alone in it.
In a tweet earlier this year, an X user lamented that Kim Kardashian flew her private jet from Los Angeles to Paris just to buy a cheesecake, despite her claims of caring about climate change.Â