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Mexico is preparing to issue a lawsuit against Google over the use of its “Gulf of America” label on Google Maps.
In a press conference on Monday (Feb. 17), Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated her administration will take legal action if Google does not change the detail to show the ‘Gulf of America’ as only covering the body of water under United States jurisdiction.
“We’re talking about 22 nautical miles, not the entire gulf,” said the Head of State.
The context of the situation is President Donald Trump’s decision to issue an executive order to rename the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to the ‘Gulf of America’.
Following that directive, Google moved to recognize the official change which it insisted is not an endorsement, but a continuation of existing protocol.
The tech giant initially briefed “We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government source,” and that remains the case.
Appropriate legal actions
President Sheinbaum detailed correspondence from Google’s VP of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Cris Turner, which effectively reiterated its stance.
As it stands, Google Maps users in the U.S. see the term ‘Gulf of America’ and those in Mexico, see ‘Gulf of Mexico’. Everyone else outside of those jurisdictions will see both terms given for the basin of the Atlantic Oceans, but Mexico isn’t satisfied.
Sheinbaum insists it is awaiting a further response from Google, before pressing ahead with the lawsuit.
“Any reference to the ‘Gulf of America’ initiative on your Google Maps platform must be exclusively limited to the marine area under US jurisdiction,” said the return letter sent to Google.
“Any extension beyond that zone exceeds the authority of any national government or private entity. Should that be the case, the Government of Mexico will take the appropriate legal actions as deemed necessary.”
Image credit: Via Midjourney
