Mexico sues Google for renaming 'Gulf of Mexico' as 'Gulf of America' on US Google Maps

Mexico has filed a lawsuit against Google for labelling the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" on its US version of Google Maps.

Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Friday that legal action has already been initiated, although she did not share specific details about where or when the lawsuit was filed.

The dispute comes after US lawmakers approved a bill that makes official an executive order signed by US president Donald Trump in January during his first week back in office. The order, now federal law, recognises part of the US continental shelf as the “Gulf of America.” However, Mexico argues that this only applies to the US portion of the gulf and not the entire body of water shared by multiple nations.

“All we’re asking is that the decree be respected for what it is,” Sheinbaum said. “The United States can rename its own continental shelf, but not the entire gulf. That would go beyond its authority.”

The Mexican government had earlier warned Alphabet-owned Google that it would consider legal action unless the map labelling was corrected.

In a pointed response to the renaming, Sheinbaum jokingly suggested that Mexico might start referring to the United States as “Mexican America,” referencing pre-1848 maps from before the US annexed large parts of Mexican territory.