Apple Mapsthe map of maps developed by Applehas updated its cartography Renamed the Gulf of Mexico in “Gulf of America” For US users, in line with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump. This happens a few hours after a similar update implemented by Google Mapswhich has implemented the new denomination for US users, however maintaining a differentiated nomenclature for international users. Unlike Google, Apple seems oriented to extend the change of name globallyraising questions about political influence in the management of technological platforms and on the autonomy of the latter with respect to government decisions. The Gulf of Mexico, shared by the United States, Mexico and Cuba, does not belong to a single country, making the renown a unilateral act not recognized internationally. This case recalls previous cartographic disputes, such as that of Crimea on Apple Maps, and raises debates about the role of Big Tech in reflecting or legitimizing national political choices.
Because the name of the Gulf of Mexico has changed on Apple Maps
THE’executive order signed by Trump imposed on Gnis (Geographic Names Information System), the official US database of geographical names, of adopt the new denomination “Gulf of America”. Although this update has changed the official position of the US government regarding how the Gulf of Mexico must be called, it has no binding value for private companies such as Apple or Google, nor for other states. The Gulf of Mexico is in fact a vast ocean inlet that overlooks three nations: the United States, Mexico and Cuba. The United States, despite having a significant influence on the region, cannot unilaterally rename the entire body of water a international level.
The fact is that Google has decided to conform to the new US government standard, declaring to follow the consolidated practice of adopting the updated names in official sources. For US users they use Google Mapsthe Gulf is now indicated how “Gulf of America”while the double denomination appears outside the USA “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)”. For Mexican users, however, the original nomenclature has remained unchanged.
Apple, for its part, initially remained silent about the matter. Then he decided to adopt a strategy similar to that of Google. Search “Gulf of Mexico” or “Gulf of America” on Apple Mapsthe position shown is the same, but the name varies according to the location of the user. In the macOS version in the USA, the map still reports “Gulf of Mexico”while the information popup indicates “Gulf of America”. In the beta version of the browser, however, the name “Gulf of America” It is already visible on the map, while on the sidebar of the web application and still remains on the placeholder “Gulf of Mexico”.
Outside the United States, for example in Australia, however, research still return “Gulf of Mexico” On all supports, but sources close to Apple have reported to Bloomberg That The change will be extended globally. It is not clear if Apple will opt for a complete replacement of the denomination or if it adopts the compromise adopted by Google, which maintains both names.
In 2019 Apple adapted to the Russian government
The story recalls the dispute of 2019 concerning the Crimeawhen Apple modified his maps to conform to the requests of the Russian governmentmarking the region annexed in 2014 as a Russian territory, but only for users who accessed from within Russia. The Russian Parliament positively accepted the choice, stating that Apple had respected local legislation, while Ukraine and several Western countries criticized the decision, accusing the company directed by Tim Cook of legitimizing an act not recognized by the international community.
