Summary
Google has reclassified the U.S. as a “sensitive country” following Trump’s announcement to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” and Mount Denali as Mount McKinley.
The designation, typically reserved for nations with border disputes or strict governments, reflects the growing challenges tech companies face under Trump’s second term.
Google Maps has prioritized updating these name changes, treating them similarly to disputed regions like the Persian Gulf.
The reclassification may impact how Google handles U.S. geographic labels moving forward.
This is far different than choosing to filter themselves for appeasement. This is deciding to work with international standards and laws, and to stick with it as the best course even if they have an opinion. This is a business of publishing facts and Google should not be the arbiter of the facts
I agree, I don’t want Google deciding place names for anything. We already have processes and organizations that do that. My government may be getting more dysfunctional every day but it is their role
While I oppose these naming changes out of personal spite , oppose that it didn’t respect locals, oppose that it overrode Congress, oppose that it was done outside the law, it would be even worse if Google were part of the decision process. For better or worse there is a legal name and Google should just use whatever it is