Will Mexico Sue Google Over ‘Gulf Of America’? Country’s President Moves Forward With Legal Threat Over Google Maps Change

 

President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbuam Pardo speaks at the National Palace on February 3 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum moved forward Monday with her threat to sue Google over the company renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America” on Google Maps, warning the government will take action if Google continues to claim the entire body of water—not just the U.S.-controlled area—now has President Donald Trump’s preferred name.

Key Facts

Sheinbaum reiterated her warning to Google on Monday after the Mexican leader said last week the country had sent a letter to Google asking it not to rename the gulf, warning that Mexico could take legal action if Google didn’t keep the Gulf of Mexico as the name.

U.S. users of Google Maps now see the body of water listed as the “Gulf of America”—after Trump signed an executive order renaming it—while Mexican users still see it as the Gulf of Mexico, and users in other countries see both names.

While Google argues it’s just following longstanding practices of using official government names, the Mexican government claims the change is incorrect, as Trump’s executive order only renames the part of the gulf that’s under U.S. jurisdiction, not the body of water as a whole.

Mexico and Cuba maintain jurisdiction over parts of the gulf, which both countries refer to as the “Gulf of Mexico,” so only the U.S.-controlled part should be retitled on any maps, Sheinbaum argues.

After Google responded to Mexico’s initial letter about the name change—just saying it was acting “consistent with our product policies” and Mexican users would continue to see the historical name—Sheinbaum said Mexico’s foreign minister sent a new letter to Google on Monday saying the “Gulf of America” name “must be strictly limited to the marine area under U.S. jurisdiction.”

Extending the name beyond that area “exceeds the authority of any national government or private entity,” the Mexican government warned, as quoted by CNN, and “the Government of Mexico will take the appropriate legal actions as deemed necessary” if Google doesn’t change the designation.

What To Watch For

Sheinbaum said Monday the country will wait for Google’s response to its new letter before it takes any legal action. It’s unclear what any eventual lawsuit could look like and whether it would be brought in the U.S. or in Mexico, though Sheinbaum has previously said it would be a civil lawsuit.

Chief Critic

Google has not yet responded to a request for comment on Sheinbaum’s action Monday. In a social media post announcing Google’s intention to change the body of water’s name on Google Maps, the company said it has “a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources,” which for the U.S. would be the Geographic Names Information System. Google then announced in a blog post Feb. 10 it was rolling out the change on Google Maps, right after GNIS updated the body of water’s name.

Key Background

Trump signed the executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico on his first day in office, also changing the name of the Alaskan mountain Denali back to its previous title, Mt. McKinley. The gulf spans approximately 600,000 square miles and is bounded by the U.S.’ southern coast and the east coast of Mexico. It also borders parts of the coast of Cuba. The name change has led to multiple controversies: In addition to the threats from Mexico against Google, the Trump administration also barred Associated Press journalists from Air Force One and media briefings after the AP’s stylebook directed journalists to continue to call the body of water the “Gulf of Mexico,” but also reference Trump’s executive order. The name change has been condemned by Trump critics, and Google confirmed it stopped letting people leave reviews of the gulf after users started flooding the listing with negative reviews criticizing Trump.