Google Maps blocks Gulf of America reviews after rename criticism

Google Maps blocks Gulf of America reviews after rename criticism

49 minutes ago Liv McMahon Technology reporter

Google Maps has blocked reviews for the Gulf of Mexico, after criticism of its decision to label it "Gulf of America" for users in the US. The tech giant updated the name of the location on Wednesday after President Donald Trump ordered it to be changed in official government documents. Clicking on the label for the Gulf in Google Maps now brings up a note saying "posting is currently turned off". Google also appears to have deleted some negative reviews left in the wake of its name change. The company has defended its decision, saying it "regularly puts protections on places during times when we anticipate an uptick of contributions that are off-topic or unrelated to someone's direct experience with the place."

It also highlighted a 2023 blog post about how it tackles "policy-violating content", such as fake reviews, and the when it disables contributions or removes content to prevent abuse of its tools. Users on social media claim hundreds of one star reviews have been removed, and have accused Google of "censorship." The most recent review left for the location result on Google Maps now appears to be from a month ago. Critics have since taken to posting negative, one star ratings of the Google Maps app itself on Apple's App Store, with several describing the app and its labels as "factually inaccurate". So-called "review-bombing" has become a popular form of online protest against companies or businesses that appear in Google Search or Maps results. In December, Google removed derogatory reviews of a McDonald's in Pennsylvania where Luigi Mangione - the 26-year-old since charged with the murder of United Healthcare boss Brian Thompson - had been arrested. The tactic has also been deployed to manipulate an app's ratings on mobile marketplaces. In 2020, people used it to criticise President Trump's then-proposal to ban TikTok - reportedly leaving hundreds of critical reviews on his re-election campaign app on Apple's App Store. It was also used by GameStop traders to hit back at stock-trading apps such as Robinhood that introduced trading restrictions amid the 2021 market upset.

Why has the Gulf of Mexico has been renamed the Gulf of America on Google Maps in the US?

Forbes reported on Thursday that the company had "tacitly admitted" to removing reviews criticising the Gulf location's renaming on Maps. The BBC has asked Google to confirm whether it has deleted them.