Technology

62866 readers

6320 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each other!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

1596

Mexican President Threatens to Sue Google Over 'Gulf of America' Label on Maps. (www.commondreams.org)

submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by [email protected] to c/technology

384 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 105 points 5 days ago (16 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 days ago (7 children)

americans can call it whatever the fuck they want, that wont suddenly change its local or english name in any other countries

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 days ago (6 children)

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

[–] JustARaccoon 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The issue is the US does not own the gulf whereas they own the streets.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

True. Guess it's more like them getting Google to change Greenland into West Alaska

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

East? It's east of Alaska...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I'd like to say I did that on purpose to show how dumb they'd be renaming it, but it is I who can't remember my East and West

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

Was going to say, it's West if you go far enough

[–] raynethackery 1 points 5 days ago

Semisopochnoi Island in Alaska with gps coordinates 51°57′42″N 179°46′23″E – easternmost point in all U.S. territory by longitude. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-easternmost-point-in-north-america-is-actually-west-of-alaska.html

load more comments (4 replies)

load more comments (12 replies)