Mexican President Threatens to Sue Google Over 'Gulf of America' Label on Maps | Common Dreams
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Mexican President urges Google to reconsider renaming the Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' on its maps feature at Trump's demand, and threatens legal action.

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.

  • @ZorqueEnglish
    -6•2 days ago

    It’s referred to as Gulf of Mexico in Mexico. Elsewhere it’s referred to either Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America) or Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico).

    They didn’t rename it for everyone, just for those living in jurisdictions falling under Car Salesman in Chief.

    • @FabledAepitaphEnglish
      1•24 hours ago

      You’re missing the entire point. What Trump did was petty af. Petty shit deserves to get smacked down from every possible angle. If more people stood up on principle like my new Mexican crush here, maybe they’d think twice before issuing their bullshit.

    • Lvxferre [he/him]English
      14•2 days ago

      Elsewhere it’s referred to either Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America) or Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico).

      Except that people don’t call it “Gulf of America” in those other places, even if Google is going out of its way to list it as if they did. Google is dictating “you should consider this a valid alternate name for the gulf”, and Sheinbaum is fighting against it.

      • @ZorqueEnglish
        3•2 days ago

        Google is dictating “This is how it’s referred to by one of the two countries encompassing the gulf”. Is it dumb as fuck? Sure. But they’re not deciding that people should be using it, only that in official terms, that is one of the names.

        That doesn’t mean you have to like it, or that it shouldn’t be fought against… but it’s not like they’re some malevolent actor trying to get one over on the righteous hero either.

        • Lvxferre [he/him]English
          2•2 days ago

          Google is dictating “This is how it’s referred to by one of the two countries encompassing the gulf”.

          It’s also dictating that one name should be seen as as valid as the other. When it’s simply not the case.

          it’s not like they’re some malevolent actor trying to get one over on the righteous hero either.

          They’re doing this because money. And it’s still the wrong thing, regardless of “malevolence” or not.

          • @ZorqueEnglish
            -1•1 day ago

            This is not a righteous crusade for the downtrodden, you are not defending a moral outrage. It’s a petty school yard slapfight.

            It’s annoying, but it’s not diabolical. No one is functionally harmed by this, they just get a bruised ego.

            On scales of capitalist damages in the world, this barely makes a ripple.