Google Maps updates “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America

6 hours ago

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Google Maps has officially changed the Gulf of Mexico’s name to the Gulf of America for users of the app in the United States.

The update officially went into effect late Monday after the Geographic Names Information System, a US government database run by the Interior Department, listed an update to the Gulf’s name.

The switch comes weeks following US President Donald Trump’s pronouncement of his intention to change the gulf’s area to align with the country’s territorial control last month.

Commenting on the name change, Google said it made the update as part of “a longstanding practice” of being in line with name changes when updated by official government sources, BBC reports.

The tech company said that while the Gulf – which is bordered by the US, Cuba and Mexico will show the updated version, Google Maps users outside of the US will still see the area’s original name associated with Mexico (Gulf of Mexico).

Mexico had decried the move, arguing that the US had no legal right to change the gulf’s name.