Mexico threatens legal action against Google over ‘Gulf of America’ label
ABIGAIL BARRETT / Our Today
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The Mexican government has warned Google that it could face legal action if the tech giant continues to display the label ‘Gulf of America’ instead of the Gulf of Mexico on its platform.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced that Mexico will sue Google unless the label is restricted to the portion of the gulf under United States jurisdiction. Sheinbaum noted that President Donald Trump’s executive order, issued on Monday, January 20 to rename the gulf, applies only to the US continental shelf, not the entire body of water shared by Mexico, the US, and Cuba.
“We’re talking about 22 nautical miles, not the entire gulf,” Sheinbaum said, noting concerns that Google’s label extends to areas under Mexican and Cuban jurisdiction.
Since the start of the year, the Mexican government has been discussing with Google, urging the company to ensure that any reference to the ‘Gulf of America’ is limited to US waters. In a letter to Google, Mexican officials enforced that any extension beyond US jurisdiction is unacceptable and could prompt legal action.
“Any reference to the ‘Gulf of America’ initiative on your Google Maps platform must be exclusively limited to the marine area under US jurisdiction,” the letter stated. “Should that be the case, the Government of Mexico will take the appropriate legal actions as deemed necessary.”
Sheinbaum indicated that Mexico would await Google’s response before pursuing a civil suit.
READ: Google renames Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ for US map users
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