Twitter Suspends Account Tracking Elon Musk's Jet That Billionaire Claims Put His Son at Risk

The move comes more than a month after Musk said he would not ban the jet-tracking account as part of his "commitment to free speech"

Elon Musk
Elon Musk.

Twitter has suspended the accounts of a user who tracks Elon Musk's jet, which the billionaire claims put his son at risk.

The @elonjet account — operated by 20-year-old Jack Sweeney, a sophomore at the University of Central Florida — was permanently suspended on Wednesday, CNN and the Associated Press reported.

Sweeney's personal account and other jet-tracking accounts — which followed figures such as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and numerous Russian oligarchs — have been suspended as well, per the outlets.

The move comes more than a month after Musk said he would not ban the jet-tracking account as part of his "commitment to free speech."

However, Musk now says accounts "doxxing real-time location info" of any individual will be suspended, calling the accounts "a physical safety" concern. He claims the decision was made after his son, X Æ A-Xii, was allegedly put in danger.

"Last night, [a] car carrying lil X in LA was followed by [a] crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked [the] car from moving & climbed onto [the] hood," Musk tweeted on Wednesday.

"Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organizations who supported harm to my family," added the Twitter owner.

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Sweeney — who also runs jet-tracking accounts for Musk and others on Instagram and Facebook — has claimed the incident was not related to his Twitter account, according to the BBC.

In a note about the suspension, which Sweeney shared with the AP, Twitter allegedly said the platform's services may not be used "in a manner intended to artificially amplify or suppress information or engage in behavior that manipulates or disrupts people's experience on Twitter."

Twitter did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Last year, the billionaire allegedly offered to pay Sweeney $5,000 to take down the account, according to CNN and the AP.

However, they failed to strike a deal after the college student countered with a $50,000 proposal, CNN reported.

Sweeney has criticized Musk's decision to suddenly change his tune on jet-tracking accounts. "[Musk] said this is free speech and he's doing the opposite," he told the AP following his suspension.

Twitter has since altered its policy surrounding private information, as noted by Insider. According to the Twitter Help Center, users cannot share an individual's private information "without their express authorization and permission."

"Sharing private information can pose serious safety and security risks for those affected and can lead to physical, emotional, and financial hardship," the website states.

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