"Protective measure" Google deletes negative comments on "Gulf of America"
The name change to Gulf of America triggered an avalanche of negative comments on Google. The company is making short work of them.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- By decree, Trump has the body of water renamed the "Gulf of America", Google, Apple and Microsoft adopt the change.
- Google disables reviews and removes critical comments as a "protective measure".
- Mexican President Sheinbaum rejects the renaming and is considering legal action against the tech companies.
As one of his first acts in office, US President Donald Trump had the Gulf of Mexico renamed the "Gulf of America". The map services of the big tech companies then implemented the decision fairly quickly. In the USA, the old term has disappeared completely, while in other countries such as Switzerland, "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)" is displayed.
The change of name triggered a wave of protests, which users also left in the form of comments on Google Maps. However, the search engine giant reacted promptly and has now completely deactivated the rating function for the body of water, as well as the option to suggest name changes. According to reports from the business magazine "Forbes", numerous critical reviews have also been removed. Originally there were hundreds of negative comments, but now there are only older, mostly neutral comments.
Google defends the deletions as "protective measures" that are always taken when there is an unusually high number of non-location-related posts. According to a company spokesperson, Google Maps always uses "official sources" such as the United Nations, ISO and the US Geographic Names Information System when naming places.
Mexico's president puts up a fight
While Trump celebrates the renaming as a "great thing", the Mexican government is critical of the process. President Claudia Sheinbaum pointed out that a name change could only apply to the territorial waters of the USA - i.e. within the twelve nautical mile zone off the US coast. The rest of the Gulf of Mexico would remain under the international name. Sheinbaum had already written to Google at the end of January asking it not to change the name.
Trump seems unimpressed by this argument. His press spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt described media outlets questioning the renaming as spreading "lies". A reporter from the Associated Press news agency was expelled from the White House following critical reporting.
Sheinbaum is now considering taking legal action. If Google sticks to the new name, a lawsuit against the tech company could follow. Apple would also be affected by such a dispute, as the company has also adopted Trump's name change.
