Google has recently reclassified the United States as a “sensitive country” in its Maps division, a classification typically used for nations with stringent governance and territorial disputes.
This reclassification follows President Donald Trump’s announcement that his administration would implement name changes on official maps and federal communications. The alterations include renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and reverting Mount Denali’s name to Mount McKinley.
The decision to classify the U.S. as a sensitive country was made on Monday, and aligns it with other countries like China, Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, which are also on Google’s list of sensitive nations. The classification is a technical setting indicating that certain labels within a specific country may differ from those in other countries.
Since the beginning of the year, companies such as Meta, TikTok, and Amazon have adjusted their products and policies to align with Trump’s political views and executive orders.
The reclassification was given a rare “P0” priority order to signify its urgency. This directive required Google employees to immediately update the name of the body of water between the Yucatan and Florida peninsulas to “Gulf of America” in Google Maps. The company stated that this change would be treated similarly to how the Persian Gulf is displayed as the Arabian Gulf in Arab countries.
Google emphasised its longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources. The company confirmed that while users in Mexico will continue to see the Gulf of Mexico as its original name, users in other countries will see both names.