Google has announced that when Donald Trump’s intention to rename Mexico Gulf and Mount Denali, Google Maps US users will now appear under the names “Gulf of America” ​​and “Mount McKinley”. .

In a relevant post on X on Monday, Google said it was following “a long practice of adopting changes in the names of locations when they are renewed by official government sources”.

When will the names on Google Maps change?

The Trump government announced on January 24 that it has already renamed the Gulf of Mexico to a Gulf of America. On his first day at the Oval Office, Donald Trump signed decrees for the renaming of both the Gulf and Mount Alas in Alaska.

The US Interior Ministry said last week that it is working to implement the decree, but the official government maps have not yet been renewed. Google has made it clear that once the Geographic Names Information System, GNIS) will be renewed, the company will immediately change the names in its navigation service.

Changes will appear to all users

Google added that “when official names differ from country to country, MAPS users see the official name in their country [στην οποία βρίσκεται και η επίμαχη τοποθεσία]. All other users on the rest of the planet see both names. The same will happen in this case. “

Therefore, users in the US will see the name “Gulf of America”, users in Mexico will continue to see the name “Gulf of Mexico” and users in the rest of the world will see both names, one of which will be set in brackets. Although Google has not yet made it clear which name will be in brackets, the New York Times refers to a statement “two people who know the plans of the company” and who said the name “Gulf of Mexico” will be first cited.

DW addressed Google asking for a comment on the issue.

What tactics follows Google Maps in the controversial names?

Google Maps is by far the most popular map and navigation application, measuring about 1 billion active users on a monthly basis.

Therefore, the application has been invited to take a position in cases of transnational dispute of various sites whether they relate to the name or the demarcation of the location for political or geographical reasons.

As Google states in its latest announcement, the application uses different names for the same locations, with a view to the location where the user is located.

A similar issue had previously arisen with the Persian or Arab Gulf, where Iran chooses the first name, while Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries refer to the Gulf under the second name.

In 2012 Iran threatened to sue Google because the company had not given the name to Maps. “If Google does not correct its mistake as soon as possible, we will file a formal complaint against the company,” Iran’s then Foreign Minister Ramin Mehmanparast said.

Google rejected the accusations by noting that it had never made any vaginal name in the application. The company now lists the names, which appear differently depending on the user’s location.

What about border disputes?

At the same time there are many border conflicts around the world, which are obviously much more intense than those concerning the names of the locations.

Regarding territorial disputes Google says that “state borders internationally are presented in a different way under the political regime of the borders.” The international border “which is not the subject of questioning, such as those between the US and Canada, are presented with dark gray lines. Temporary borders specified by circumstances or do not formal validity are presented with intermittent gray lines. ” Finally, with intermittent gray lines, “the controversial borders are presented, where the parties involved do not agree on specific borderlines”.

In 2014, six weeks after Russia’s invasion of Crimea, Google Maps presented Crimea as a Russian territory to Russian users, as Ukrainian territory in Ukrainian users and with intermittent lines in users in other states.

Today a user in Germany still sees a dotted gray line separating Ukraine from Crimea. However, in terms of the four regions of Ukraine occupied by Russia after its start in 2022, namely Donetsk, Hersona, Luhansk and Zaporizia, they are still presented as Ukrainian territory – something that confirmed a few days ago at DW and a Google Maps user from Russia.

Curated by: George Passas