What just happened? Google is being sued by Mexico over the tech giant's relabeling of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America for US Maps users, despite repeated requests from the country to revert the change. Google made the update in February following President Trump's proclamation that decreed the renaming and the subsequent name change by the federal Board on Geographic Names.
Trump signed the executive order changing the name of the body of water on his first day in office in January.
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote a letter to Google soon after asking it to reconsider its decision to show the change on Google Maps. She shared a reply from Google VP of government affairs and public policy Cris Turner stating the company had no plans to change its policy. A month later, Sheinbaum threatened to take Google to court if it didn't rename the location.
Google says the name change on Maps is part of its long-standing policy of adhering to official government names for locations and other geographical features.
Although Google Maps users in the US now see the Gulf of America name, it appears as Gulf of Mexico to those in Mexico. The rest of the world sees both names on Google Maps.
Mexico argues that the policy violates Mexican sovereignty as the US has jurisdiction over around 46% of the Gulf, while Mexico controls 49% and Cuba controls 5%.
Sheinbaum said that Trump's executive order only applies to the portion of the continental shelf belonging to the United States.
"All we want is for the decree issued by the US government to be complied with," Sheinbaum said.
"The US government only calls the portion of the US continental shelf the Gulf of America, not the entire gulf, because it wouldn't have the authority to name the entire gulf," she added.
We've received a few questions about naming within Google Maps. We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.
– News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) January 27, 2025
On Thursday, the US House of Representatives approved legislation to codify the policy of renaming the Gulf for Mexico. It makes the change official for federal agencies, which will be directed to update thier maps accordingly.
CBS News writes that Sheinbaum announced the lawsuit in her daily press briefing, but did not provide details of the suit.
When Trump first announced the renaming plans ahead of his inauguration, Sheinbaum remarked that Google should rename North America to América Mexicana, or Mexican America, because an 1814 founding document that preceded Mexico's constitution referred to it that way.
Mexico sues Google for renaming Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America
