Mexico issues legal threat to Google

I'm fairly certain anyone can call it whatever they want.

If Mexico has a law that it needs to be named the golfo de Mexico then display that to requests coming from Mexico. Otherwise how can Mexico force Americans to call anything anything?

How much outrage have you seen over those names?

While i hate this gulf of america bullshit, i'm not sure i agree this argument is so sound. I don't think there is any rule of international law requiring countries to refer to other country's territory by the preferred name of the state that has soverignty over that territory. Maybe if you take it as an implicit threat of annexation or claim of soverignty, that would be a violation of the prohibition of acquiring territory by force, but that seems a bit of a stretch at the present juncture. [Ianal].

Basically i think there is a big difference between saying someone is acting illogically and someone is acting illegally.

The solution where we cut it in half on the map and give it two names seems silly, since it is a single geographic feature. `Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)` (and the reverse when connecting from the US) seems like a reasonable middle-ground. It doesn't seem that Google Maps generally indicates who controls which ocean territory.

There are myriad authorities that maintain the official database of geographic names for use within their jurisdiction. Conflicts between these various databases are common. No one has the authority, either in theory or practice, to determine what a "correct" map looks like. To accommodate this, all mapping companies maintain a huge number of deltas for each authority.

There isn't One True Map. It is really a vast number of separate maps maintained in parallel, one for each jurisdiction that claims the authority to dictate what a map should look like. To the extent possible, companies try to minimize the number of parallel maps they must maintain. Geographic boundaries, even uncontested ones, give a hint of why this is necessary. An international border is commonly shared by several administrative jurisdictions (national and then subdivisions of each nation). If one of those several jurisdictions does a high-precision survey that moves some inconsequential line a few centimeters, what gives them the authority to edit that border for every other jurisdiction that shares it? Managing these inconsistencies is one of the basic challenges of making quasi-authoritative maps.

Mexico does not have an argument here. Everyone in every country uses an opinionated map that reflects a self-interested narrative that therefore is in conflict with maps used elsewhere. This isn't a surprise or shocking, things have always worked this way. The US, like Mexico, absolutely has the authority to make any map they want. No one is required to use either of those maps and in fact many countries reject both the American and Mexican versions of the map.

In the end, the loss will be on the AP and others who decide to go this path, and most importantly to their readers.

The only press allowed will be the one that acquiesces to the new administration and does not antagonize it. And this will be a major loss for press in general.

I wish AP would not be so stubborn o unconsequential issues such as the Gulf of America. No one really cares, its a political stunt and nothing more.

Now is that rugged male individualism, a DIY spirit, or something else?

Passersby and strangers have the right of free speech, and what incentives would compel a stranger to give accurate directions the way the motorist wants to go? What also would inform the conversation with a stranger so that there is understanding and trust, assuming that the stranger doesn't intend to misdirect or beguile the motorist? Hop in car and tag along for 10 miles?

The stereotype may also derive from a man's instinct to protect others. Such as a spouse and children in the car, or his coworkers, or just a taxi driver's fare. The man has taken responsibility at the wheel, and control and liability rests on him to complete the journey. A man's sense of fatherhood and spousal love--"jealousy" is a fierce force of nature that ultimately can only be tempered or quelled by feminine influence.

Now take this defective "car analogy" and apply it to the US Gov, Justin Trudeau, or Mexico as you scope out and figure out what's really going on in 2025.

Countries would get all uppity about doing business in their jurisdiction if that were the case.

More than noise, it feels they are force-feeding the world this "freedom fries" nonsense in a way that normalizes this behavior.

If the US wants to go ahead with this pathetic policy of renaming things as a way to stake a claim, limit this to their geo bounds. Don't let that brand of stupidity leak elsewhere.

Yes, that's why it started showing "Gulf of America".

> Sometimes the solution is to show different names to people in different countries.

The "gulf of America" nonsense is nonsense originating and limited to the US. Allowing this stupidity to leak outside of the US is a problem no one signed up for.

Let's keep the lunacy in the lunatic asylum.

That said the whole thing is childish and stupid and a distraction from the massive grift being perpetrated on the American people right now.

Its also just a giant middle finger to mexico.

Native Americans used winner takes all in the same manner that Europeans did. What's the big deal?

"Americas" implies South America, which doesn't make sense. And only "America" ties it too closely to the US.

Of course the whole thing is silly and "Gulf of Mexico" was perfectly fine. And I say that as someone who supports 50% of what Trump is doing.

Those countries ain’t suing Google for calling those geographical places differently in different languages.