The president of Mexico on Thursday expressed hope that Google “reconsiders” its decision to change its online maps to reflect U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that he has the authority to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico.
Shortly after taking office, Trump issued an executive order announcing he was changing the name of the body of water to the Gulf of America.
For U.S. users of Google Maps, the gulf was listed as the Gulf of America as of Thursday. Google, whose CEO attended Trump’s inauguration along with other tech moguls, said last month it has “a long-standing practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”
But Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum warned Thursday that her government “will file a civil suit” against Google if it does not revert back to labeling the international body of water the Gulf of Mexico.
if im not mistaken, i think i heard google pulls the data from some external database, which changed the name. google didnt change shit, rather the database they use did.
i could be wrong, but i could have sworn i read that somewhere.
also seems rather petty to me to sue an american company for following US policy changes.
to be clear, i think the gulf of america thing is stupid as hell, and petty on trump’s part.
found an article for whoever downvoted me lol.
Gulf of America name change in the U.S. — what you’ll see in Maps
US policy doesn’t get to dictate how websites operate in non US jurisdiction. The US acting like it gets to bully the rest world into doing whatever it wants is the whole issue at hand. That’s the point: the trump admin wants to use US influence to intimidate, bully, and antagonize other countries by disrespecting their sovereignty.
yes, i agree. but look at the link i posted. they still show it as gulf of mexico if you’re in mexico accessing maps.
my point is more that the US has changed the name of the gulf in america. it is very stupid and meaningless, but it is still officially renamed.
if i look at japan in google maps it says japan, not nipon. why? because that’s what we call it here. i personally think thats dumb too. we should call countries things by their real names. deutschland, bharat, suomi, etc
nevertheless the gulf is called the gulf of america here, no matter how dumb that is.
i seriously doubt google, who is under active investigation for monopoly and being threatened to be broken up, AND, recently lifted its ban on using its ai in weapons, is interested in keeping the old name of the gulf in protest against trump.
again, i think this entire situation is stupid, and would prefer everyone call it the gulf of mexico, but i also don’t think google specifically is doing anything wrong in this specific instance. google is doing plenty else wrong that matters much more.
Come on, guys. You have drug cartels. Surely they have a guy named Luigi. Doesn’t Trump want to declare war on Mexico or some insane shit like that?
You have drug cartels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_drug_trafficking_allegations
Everyone has drug cartels. The US doesn’t even make thr top 20 tho.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/20-countries-highest-number-drug-220037331.html
That link isn’t resolving.
What do you mean by not resolving? It isn’t working for you?
Restrict Google from doing business.in the country altogether.
Have phones switch to some open non Google platform
Fuck google, microsoft, apple, they’re all evil at this point
As a mexican I second this thought
I just do not understand what the big deal is about the name of this fucking thing. I understand trump trying to change it out of nowhere is dumb as fuck, but who cares? why go through the stress? Like just rename it something without a countries name in it. Like the Gulf of Jeff or something. Nobodies butthurt about this shit that don’t matter then.
Just call it the Gulf of Fuck The Environment, We’re Getting Rich!
Sponsored by BP
…Brought to you by Carl’s Jr.
Google are an American company, and the government of the USA has changed the name. What else do people expect them to do?
Besides, it still say Gulf of Mexico if you’re outside the USA.
It shows up as “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)” outside of the US apparently. That seems like enough to make a fuss to me; bodies of international water have specific rules around name changes and the US can’t unilaterally decide differently.
americans can call it whatever the fuck they want, that wont suddenly change its local or english name in any other countries
Imagine being a tourist in the US, looking for an address you believe to be say, Martin Luther King Street. Can’t find it anywhere, even on Google maps, then eventually you talk to someone and find out it’s now called Elon Musk Avenue.
Not saying this is exactly the same, but if we’re letting people change the names of places on commonly used global map software willy nilly, even if it’s just region to region, we’re gonna end up with problems. It’s not like “freedom fries” back in the day that legitimately affected no one.
And I am suddenly seeing a parenthetical on the Gulf here outside the US, so there technically was a sudden change
What are the rules? And who makes them?
This is accurate. Here’s a screenshot from my friend in France.
I’m a mexican in mexico, my phone’s in japanese and it still shows as gulf of mexico
Ha. I speak Spanish and Japanese. My girlfriend lives in Jilatopec. Sheinbaum está furiosa con Trump y me encanta.
the government of the USA has changed the name
When did they do that?
Or are you one of those people who would agree if Trump said “I am the state”?
It was changed by executive order, which the president has the authority to do. Google doesn’t get to go “nuh-uh” and keep it the same.
Executive orders are not laws. You do know that, right?
Why didn’t they change it only in the US and not elsewhere? Could you imagine the uproar if Google censored Tiananmen Square world wide because of the Chinese government?
PS: Yes it was modified for everyone outside the US too. I am not American but your “president” is now allowed to change what name I have to call something?
Because Google is a US company, and not in a position to tell the US government to take a walk, that’s why.
Did the US government tell Google to censor Tiannamen Square, or are they a global company that has to observe more than the whims of a single country?
I hope other countries start renaming the US soon.
Tianamen square shows up just fine on Google maps, who is supposedly censoring them?
Travel to Beijing, open up Google search, and see if it gives you any historically accurate results about what happened there.
I’m serious, it sounds like you could use a lesson in freedom and the world outside your country.
I was unaware that the executive branch encompassed the entirety of the government. Please, do elaborate.
If you want to know more about how the US government works, I’m not the person to educate you.
Clearly, since you think an executive order is a law.
Then why are you here trying to tell people that one asshole with an opinion is the government?
You can argue with strangers on the Internet as much as you like, but the fact is, the US president can and has changed the name of multiple geographic features, and arguing with me won’t change that.
Oh, you’ve been caught being dumb and your story is changing.
First it was “the government”, now it’s “the president”.
That’s not how America works, lol. Naming things is a legislative responsibility. Trump can sign as many executive orders as he wants, but it isn’t official without an act of congress and a chance for the judiciary to object.
What else do people expect them to do?
1.- Refuse-
2.- Apply only the part of the name change that’s actually covered by US jurisdiction. The Gulf of Mexico extends noticeably beyond US’s borders.
But hey this is Google we’re talking about.
Besides, it still say Gulf of Mexico if you’re outside the USA.
If I’m a eg.: Colombian, it should be
“Gulf of Mexico”“Golfo de México” wherever I stand, not “Gulf of America”.Apply only the part of the name change that’s actually covered by US jurisdiction.
Strictly speaking, per the EO, this is what they should have done. The EO defines the area to be renamed as:
the U.S. Continental Shelf area bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and extending to the seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba in the area formerly named as the Gulf of Mexico
You can see exactly where that seaward boundary is on this map: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_ECS_Regions_2023.png
The area described is less than half the whole Gulf of Mexico.
OK, but how is Google supposed to know what nationality you are?
Doesn’t need to (but yeah yeah they’re Google, I know…). They just should name it “Gulf of México” or whatever the translated name is to the user’s device, and add an asterisk somewhere that shows a note to the effect of “a small fraction of Confederate remnants think it should be called ‘Gulf of America’”.
That is essentially what they’ve done by putting Gulf of America in brackets behind the original name.
But why? Why should any other country care about the US’s ridiculous internal politics
If there existed any valid reasoning for the change… 🤷♂️
But the Felon Dicktater is only doing it so he can claim himself architect of global geographic change. Same reason he wants Greenland, Panama, Gaza, etc.
Fuck that.
I back Sheinbaum on this one. Won’t matter, but do it anyway.
Dicktater brought to mind very unpleasant images
He wants to seize Greenland, Panama and Canada because they are either strategically important or have valuable resources, or both (and, in the case of Canada, because he wants revenge on Trudeau for being “woke” and standing up to his ape-dominance handshakes). This name change though is just because he hates Mexicans.
That’s a valid point, but why do you expect Google to take a principled stand on this? Take it up with your government.
In the world I want to live in…
Google would have taken a principled stand against such an attempt at a govt.
Instead, they bent the knee along with every other Tech Oligarch and, therefore, deserve the hit.
Can someone just make a mod or something for g-maps to name all American names to like Spanish ones? Nuevo York, Guashintón Distrito de Columbia, that kinda stuff.
Just access GMaps through your VPN through Mexico, and your wildest dreams can come true.
Guayinton or Guallinton fits better
So why did google change it in Canada?
Because Google is actuvely pushing US government agenda into Canada. It should be considered an extension of the US government as far as other countries are concerned, but it’s a corporation so nobody cares. Google WILL assist in taking Canada the best they can, so I guess Canada can just enjoy it or whatever instead of doing something about it.
This is stupid. Google is doing it with their normal process, labeling the USA as a sensitive country in their system and changing the label only for the sensitive snowflakes. So there is no harm to Mexicans in Mexico.
What sort of damages would she assert anyway? That her country suffers in a significant way from a Google Maps label that can only be seen from the sensitive country? How so?
And if it’s a political move what is she hoping to achieve? Google will never cave to the USA before Mexico, they depend more on their US operations than their Mexican ones. So she can’t achieve anything politically. Does she want to draw even more attention to a losing fight? A losing fight over mere symbolism no less? Why?
The Gulf of America label can be seen worldwide as it’s Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)
Oh, sorry. You’re right. I was wrong on that point. I didn’t realize it showed the sensitive label in parenthesis to others.
I would maintain the rest of the argument though, with the Mexican (and global) point of view being the more prominently displayed, there is no significant harm, and she doesn’t stand to gain anything from pursuing a civil case, nor politically.
It’s not about harm. It’s about kissing Trump’s ass on something he doesn’t actually get to decide to stay on his good side.
I’m not suggesting she should kiss ass, far be it from me. But I still don’t see a good motive for this move. A civil suit is not going to get her anything, she’s just highlighting Trumps symbolic bullshit even more.
And then when the suit either goes against her or goes for her but results in laughibly low compensation because the measureable harm is not significant, then it will look like a confirmation of the power of the convict in chief.
I was talking about Google kissing Trump’s ass. Which is why this is happening.
It takes an act of congress to rename a domestic post office. Google has taken his executive order and decided it’s true for everyone, at least parenthetically.
class action please, so we can let our powers combine
Everyone needs to get used to ignoring this bullshit. The Gulf of America thing isn’t important. It doesn’t effect anyone, and there’s far too many posts about it when there are real things to pay attention to. This is purely a distraction. Stop giving it attention.
It’s the details that make up the whole picture.
As an isolated situation, the renaming thing may be stupid and not worth giving any credence. Energy can be spent resisting elsewhere in more useful places. However along with the rest of the actions of billionare corpos that kissed the ring, it’s part of the overall trend with devastating consequences. Bullshit details shouldn’t be ignored, but acknowledged as “they’re fucking us from all directions right now and waging war on reality, and we really should stop letting them”.
Out with the oldspeak. In with the newspeak.
Google also removed the ability to suggest edits to specifically the Gulf.
Guess they knew ahead of time they’d get an influx of requests to change or back.
They hadn’t removed that ability as of Thursday evening, because I was able to give feed back. My guess is they got a rash of hate messages similar to mine and decided to remove it because of that. I hate them so much right now, but Google is unfortunately the forefront service for my online life. So much I do with Google apps that I really can’t get in any one other place.
FUCK YEAH, DO IT DO IT FUCKING DO IT! Please sue the fuck outta those shitfucks!
The word “America” is not reserved for the USA alone and belongs to the entire Americas: North America, Central America, South America. As such if they want to rename the Gulf of Mexico then it should be the Gulf of North America of which both the USA and Mexico are a part of and share borders around that body of water.
Furthermore the word “America” isn’t an English word but the German bastardization of an Italian word. Specifically the word “America” was coined by Martin Waldseemüller a German cartographer who named the Americas after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci who explored the new continents for Spain and Portugal. So I guess the Gulf of North Amerigo is more accurate. LOL.
Amerigo Vespucci - History Cartoon ~ Innovative History ~ YouTube.
In any case, if this is the big orange blow-fish’s attempt to dis on Mexico then it’s pretty petty much like everything he does to massage his massive ego.
So it’s the gulf of Germany. Got it. Ü
The US keeps it to flex on all the other American countries. It’s a display of dominance.
Grab em by the vespussi
You wanna know what’s cool about language? It changes over time. So while the origin of a word may mean one thing, it can eventually mean something else as well or even something entirely different. Cool used to just mean temperature, but it eventually also came to refer to the attitude of a person or even how likable they are in common usage. Nimrod was a mythical hunter but thanks to Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd now means a stupid person. Same with “America” referring originally a set of continents. In common usage it has come to mean referencing the United States of America, mostly because people are lazy and is so much easier to say “American” than it is to describe something as “from the United States of America”. You can resist the change all you want, but eventually you sound like some old person that says automobile instead of car since car originally meant an individual portion of a train.
Don’t sue- just threaten to block some of googles services in your country and they’ll come around real quick. Hit em where it hurts. Google isn’t hurting for lawyers.
You have to hit them in the wallet. Every time Trump does or says anything about tariffs, just starting increasing tariffs on all Tesla products.
We can’t hit Trump directly but we can hit his little friends quite easily.
Musk will have an absolute meltdown on twitter of course, but if you just ignore him he’ll give up. He’s already shown that he is prepared to back down if he’s actually facing financial penalties.
Tragically we have a dried apricot ceding power to the highest bidder. There isn’t much for other countries to do directly unless they are paying for “sock puppet time” or getting in a pissing match with a clown that makes a juggalo look smart.
This is more about controlling (collateral) damage: in this case megacorps “kissing the ring” via stupid shit like Google is doing presently. Countries can fuck with corporations far easier than we can (guess who paid for sock puppet time…)
Google is clearly attempting to make themselves more “saleable” to the ruling party by dropping things like month names or renaming universally accepted names of global features. Right now their -baseline- is where we are at currently. A lawsuit does next to nothing. It’s an operating cost. A country threatening to blacklist their service will hit them cleanly in the only thing that matters: their shareholders. Our biggest corporations have time and again rolled over for this tactic. They may have elevated themselves to a godlike status within the states but they are vulnerable outside our shores.
