KoolpradDec 16, 2022
Drew Harwell
One point I do want to make clear: Twitter is Elon Musk's website. He paid all that money and can ban whoever he wants. It's his right, just like it's our right to point out when he's spreading bad information and contradicting himself.
Dec 16, 2022 at 6:55pmWeb
Show threadDrew HarwellDec 16, 2022

Because Elon has continuously misrepresented this:

The data used for flight-tracking accounts like ElonJet - called ADS-B data - are transmitted from nearly every plane in the sky.

The signals are unencrypted, and anyone with a $20 RTL-SDR radio can pick them up. Aviation hobbyists gather the data and put them on websites like ADS-B Exchange.

It's publicly available, legally acquired data of the kind Elon Musk said he'd allow, until suddenly he no longer did.

Show threadDrew HarwellDec 16, 2022

How The Washington Post has used flight data:

* To track a former president's emergency landing (in 2022): https://wapo.st/3HGp8IA

* To map out how military helicopters flew over George Floyd protests (in 2020): https://wapo.st/3V3WRie

* To raise questions about Elon Musk's flights (in 2019): https://wapo.st/2RmjE7X

* To investigate The Post's owner Jeff Bezos (in 2018): https://wapo.st/3YmLt3M

* To document extravagant trips on the taxpayer dime (in 2017): https://wapo.st/3HMh9d0

Plane carrying Donald Trump made emergency landing in New Orleans after engine failure over Gulf of Mexico

A plane carrying former president Donald Trump suffered engine failure late Saturday evening over the Gulf of Mexico, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in New Orleans shortly after taking off from the city.

The Washington Post
Show threadNick Selby Dec 16, 2022
@drewharwell @Cjust also: ADS-B is open source and public data. It’s like banning use of the letter L.
Show threadLynda ThompsonDec 17, 2022
@fuzztech @drewharwell @Cjust ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Show threadWilliam B. TurnerDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell. How DARE they! Tyranny! Sore injustice! Impeach!
Show threadEnrico Ariis Dec 16, 2022
@drewharwell
did Elon break up with Bari?
Show threadFluzDec 16, 2022
@EnricoAriis @drewharwell since when has lone uskm cared about his kids?
Show threadlazystreet779Dec 17, 2022
@EnricoAriis @drewharwell did anyone ask why he wasn’t with his kid and who was in fact with the kid?
Show threadRobin from Colorado 🇺🇸🇺🇦Dec 16, 2022
@drewharwell watching journalists going through the five stages of death is interesting. Are we in denial or bargaining?
Show threadcbn2Dec 16, 2022
@drewharwell Seriously, everyone I know who has their own plane (and I know a lot, because I'm rural Alaskan, and our family had 3) knows that all private plane flights are publicly tracked through aircraft tail numbers. I'm astonished that anyone who regularly flies that way would be 1) surprised or 2) bothered. Especially when he wants to track the locations of all Twitter users for ad purposes. #SlimyLittleHypocrite
Show threadLynda ThompsonDec 17, 2022
@cbn2 @drewharwell ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Show threadJacob HornerDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell I think you meant to say “assassination coordinates”
Show threadTy RossDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell Glad to see you here, Drew!
Show threadAmanda Finley Digs All ThingsDec 17, 2022

@drewharwell but the megalomaniac thinks we give a flip about where he is every minute of every day.

How soon can we render him irrelevant? Push him back into the shadows and not a threat to democracy?

Show threadlazystreet779Dec 17, 2022
@Rubyslippahs @drewharwell can we raise enough $$ to buy him out of twitter? Tho, just a few days ago I hypothesize that if we the interested people can play the right game we would own twitter and he would still have to pay the bills. Ideas!
Show threadAmanda Finley Digs All ThingsDec 17, 2022

@lazystreet779 @drewharwell oh, we don't need to raise a dime. Let the fool crash it, and we'll go clean it up when he takes the next space penis outta here to just the tip of space. Byeeeeeeeee.

I've cleaned up after a few tornados. We've got this.

Show threadTurd BlossomDec 17, 2022
@drewharwell How dare they use readily available data for quality news stories. The nerve!
Show threadJetStreamDec 17, 2022
@drewharwell These are not good examples. None of these has anything to do with our dear God #elonmusk. He only sees everything through his eyes.
Show threadRob LandleyDec 17, 2022

@drewharwell Airplanes broadcast their license plate via radio. The FAA has required them all to do this since the 1950s:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IFF_Mark_X

Half the arguments about drones in civilian airspace is that they don't have sufficient transponders:

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/equipadsb/resources/faq#q16

Twittler getting suddenly upset about this is like him getting suddenly upset about Apple's 30% cut of iPhone sales. He knew for years and agreed to it, then "forgot" when he donned the maga hat.

IFF Mark X - Wikipedia

Show threadJordan BarabDec 17, 2022
@drewharwell If Elon wants to avoid being tracked wherever he flies, he should just fly commercial. Problem solved! You're welcome.
Show threadCătă 🇷🇴🇺🇦🇲🇩🇪🇺Dec 18, 2022
@drewharwell don't forget about the monitoring of Russian airplanes done currently in the context of the war in Ukraine
Show threadJohn BaileyDec 16, 2022

@drewharwell

Bond villains always have special privileges...

Show threadSaint EddieDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell elon is out of his crack smoking mind.
Show threadSuper Mecha DadDec 16, 2022

@drewharwell

I'm not really a fan, but he does raise a very good point.

Show threadAleDec 16, 2022
@SuperMechaDad @drewharwell wow I did not think of that and it makes a lot of sense... but since these are all public data I guess the IRS (or Cali equivalent) could still use them to build a case?
Show threadBrian VastagDec 16, 2022
@SuperMechaDad @drewharwell banning publicly available data for tax avoidance purposes is a "good point"?
Show threadSkyeDec 16, 2022
bet his own pilot appreciates knowing where all the othet planes are
Show threadDerek BruffDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell Honest question: The data may be public, but knowing which plan belongs to a specific person, that's not public is it?
Show threadshaunDec 17, 2022

@derekbruff @drewharwell Aircraft ownership is public data in the US; you can go to the FAA website, plug in a tail number, and get the info.

Often, aircraft will be registered to LLCs (for both privacy and insurance/liability reasons). But this is only worth the effort one puts into it. Registering a jet to “Falcon Landing LLC” at SpaceX’s Hawthorne address sort of gives it away…

https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=628TS

Aircraft Inquiry

Show threadbVorkDec 17, 2022

@derekbruff @drewharwell

You can work backwards through public data.
Here's the FAA registry of N628TS: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=628TS

You'll notice that the owner is FALCON LANDING, LLC in Hawthorne, CA.

We then go to the Business Search provided by the government of California and punch that into the search tool:
https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business

You'll get 4 entries, one of which is still active. Click on View History and you'll be taken to a list of filings and statements. Click on the Statement of Information from May 25, 2021, and download the PDF.

Open the PDF and you'll discover that the manager of this company is Elon Musk

And there you have it: Elon Musk is the manager of the company that owns this jet, derived entirely from government sources.

Aircraft Inquiry

Show threadDerek BruffDec 17, 2022

@bVork @drewharwell Huh. It's all public data, but that amount of sleuthing makes it feel a little like doxxing. You can track down my home address through public data (since I bought my home), but that wouldn't make it cool to post online.

I mean, Musk is definitely a bad actor in all this and knowing a plane's location isn't the same as knowing a person's location, but I can see why some people might find this worrisome.

Show threadbVorkDec 17, 2022

@derekbruff @drewharwell I'm not sure they are comparable. I did this exercise solely through corporate records. I'm not sure I could work backwards through publicly available property records to acquire your address, even given that you are using your real name and I can make an educated guess on what city you live in - and definitely not easily-accessible online sources like the ones I used.

Aren't most property title searches based on address, not name? I guess if you have a landline, I could probably find you in what remains of the phone book, but that requires actually acquiring a physical phone book from your presumed area.

I think if I were to try doxxing you via legal, public methods (and I want to reiterate I would NEVER do this, I'm just laying out the most logical approach), I'd do it with a public records request of registered voters in Mississippi.

But you do raise several questions (that I don't really have the answers to):

What level of information counts as doxxing when it gets posted online without your consent? I mean, you'll notice I'm not using my real name here. Is it doxxing if somebody posts that, even though most people in this thread are using theirs?

And do public persona (celebrities, politicians, or high-profile businesspeople) deserve lower expectations of privacy?

And what information is worth disclosing in the public interest, like (just FOR EXAMPLE) a private jet making a bazillion polluting trips every year?

I'm not sure it's possible to develop a solid line between doxxing and posting public information. I think the closest I can get is "is this likely to cause extra-legal harm to the subject over a matter that is not of the public interest?"

Show threadWilliam B. TurnerDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell. I just posted this on Twitter. I wonder if Elmo will ban me.
Show threadSam AbuelsamidDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell publicly available ads-b data is an important aviation safety feature that allows air traffic controllers as well as other aircraft to track the real-time position of other aircraft
Show threadDave Troy Dec 16, 2022
@drewharwell yup, absolutely. I've done this with a USB SDR on my Mac and it's very, very easy to do.
Show threadRabid Rabbit 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇪🇺🇺🇦Dec 16, 2022

@drewharwell

I'm actually a ham, M0WVX. Haven't tried this, have an SDR already hooked up to a beefy ground loop for 40m/80m DX, will give it a go!

Show threadEdwin GroothuisDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell @the_rabid_rabbit you don’t need a large HF antenna, you need a 12 cm high vertical with a ground plane, or if you want to show size, an 10 element coaxial colinear (I might have the name wrong) of one meter.
Show threadRabid Rabbit 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇪🇺🇺🇦Dec 16, 2022

@mavetju @drewharwell

Oh it's up there at 1GHz. Dunno why I thought it would be down at HF. Okay cool.

Show threadTJ WashingtonDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell there's been flight trackers on Twitter for years.
Show threadGeoDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell Very important points!
Show threadbwcDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell 👑👑
Show threadJenLDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell And also our right to leave $8chan for a platform that is not designed to push QAnon, white supremacy, and authoritarian propaganda. #twittermigration
Show threadPhil RobertsonDec 16, 2022

@jelasher @drewharwell

https://robertsonp.substack.com/p/in-defense-of-the-twitter-quitter

In Defense of the Twitter Quitter

You don’t need to stay on Twitter and ‘fight’

Phil's Takes
Show threadTaylor DragooDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell you handled that situation perfectly, really stuck it to him.
Show threadxs4me2Dec 16, 2022
@drewharwell
He bought his hobby… or should I say his addiction… and now demonstrates he had no idea what it is actually about.
Show threadJoe KatzDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell If he wants to run it by monarchical fiat, he should just say so!
Show threadArgot_RobbieDec 16, 2022

@drewharwell @alexwinter My feed is full of repetitions of this message, which is not news to me.

There must be a lot of people in every thread who do not understand this.

Show threadRedDec 16, 2022

@drewharwell

He bought twitter to get the attention he thinks he deserves.
He's having a temper tantrum for getting the attention he actually deserves.

Show threadScottinSoCal 🇺🇦 🕊 🏳‍🌈Dec 16, 2022
@drewharwell We also get to point and laugh. That's like dessert.
Show threadJuliaDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell And it's the right of the EU to fine him for it ;)
Show thread🇪🇺 Paul Schoonhoven 🍋🍉Dec 16, 2022
@drewharwell and it is just like any pub: if you don't like the new owner or the atmosphere, just go somewhere else.
Show threadPhil RobertsonDec 16, 2022

@vosje62 @drewharwell

precisely. and furthermore, ->

https://robertsonp.substack.com/p/in-defense-of-the-twitter-quitter

In Defense of the Twitter Quitter

You don’t need to stay on Twitter and ‘fight’

Phil's Takes
Show threadUditt Lamba Dec 16, 2022
@drewharwell yes, but most criticism and outrage stems from hun being a hypocrite cry baby. It is his right to do whatever he wants but no one likes hypocrisy.
Show threadRamon de MeijerDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell the EU might have an other opinion on that.
Show threadCyrus Farivar 🔥📰🖖🏽🚴🏼🏕️Dec 16, 2022
@drewharwell amen.
Show threadDan CiruliDec 16, 2022
@drewharwell And, of course, it's our right to never go there again.
Show threadEllen BeldnerDec 16, 2022
@danciruli @drewharwell
Free speech don’t mean free ears.
Show threadJ🍩hn FünkDec 16, 2022

@danciruli @drewharwell This was, of course, birdboy's fatal miscalculation. He thought the bird site's status as the internet's town square was set in stone.

Turns out, town square status is determined by the people who use it. When you start kicking some people out, and others leave on their own in droves, they'll either find or build a new town square.

Show threadPhil RobertsonDec 16, 2022

@probablyjohnfunk @danciruli @drewharwell

Precisely. ->

https://robertsonp.substack.com/p/in-defense-of-the-twitter-quitter

In Defense of the Twitter Quitter

You don’t need to stay on Twitter and ‘fight’

Phil's Takes
Show threadKaren E. Lund 💙💛Dec 16, 2022

@danciruli @drewharwell Last night I made my tweets protected and today I closed all the open tabs for the sites. (Yes, I'm a tab slut.)

I will not delete my account because I don't want some troll to take my handle, but I'm on the road to everything short of that.