Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that the state may file a lawsuit against Google if the company continues to show American users the name of the Gulf of Mexico as "American". Sheinbaum argues that Donald Trump's law applies only to the part of the continental shelf that is under US control, CNN reports.
"What Google is doing here is changing the name of the continental shelf of Mexico and Cuba, which has nothing to do with Trump’s decree, which applied only to the US continental shelf. We do not agree with this, and the Foreign Minister has sent a new letter addressing the issue," Sheinbaum said.
The changes implemented by Google only display the name "American Gulf" for users in the United States. Mexican users see only the original name, the Gulf of Mexico. All users from other parts of the world see both names. This is the explanation the company sent in response to the first appeal from the Mexican president.
Sheinbaum says that Mexico has now sent a new letter to Google stating that the name "Gulf of Mexico" on maps should be strictly limited to the maritime area under US jurisdiction. The letter also states that any expansion beyond this area would exceed the authority of any national government or private organization.
The Mexican government says it will wait for a response from the company before taking any legal action.
As a reminder, other large American companies, such as Apple and Microsoft, have also changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the American Gulf for users in the United States. Apple, in particular, plans to display the name "American Gulf" worldwide. Google has also previously limited the ability to leave reviews for the Gulf of Mexico.