Mexico is suing Google over the company's decision to label the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America on its maps service for users in the United States. President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the legal action Friday, stating Google ignored repeated requests to reverse the change. The location where the lawsuit was filed was not disclosed.
The lawsuit follows an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump that sought to rename the body of water for federal agencies. Google stated it made the change as the company announced at the time, as part of a practice of following name updates from official government sources.
President Sheinbaum had sent a letter to Google in January asking the company to reconsider the decision. She threatened legal action the following month. Her government contends that the US executive order applies only to the US portion of the continental shelf and does not grant authority to rename the entire gulf, which is bordered by the United States, Mexico, and Cuba.
For users in Mexico, Google said the name remained Gulf of Mexico. Users elsewhere were shown the label "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)".
The Republican-led House of Representatives voted Thursday to officially rename the gulf for federal agencies. Trump argued the change was justified because the US does "most of the work there, and it's ours."
Mexico maintains that the US order only renamed maritime regions controlled by the United States. Mexico's government argues it would have no business telling the US government to rename a state, a mountain, or a lake within US territory.
The Associated Press news agency's refusal to use the Gulf of America name led to conflict with the White House, which restricted AP's access to certain events. A federal judge ordered the White House in April to stop limiting the outlet's access.
Trump hinted on Wednesday that he may recommend changing how the US refers to another body of water. During an upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, he plans to announce the US will refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia, according to reports.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi responded by saying he hoped the reports were "no more than a disinformation campaign" and that such a move would "bring the wrath of all Iranians."
President Sheinbaum stated, "All we want is for the decree issued by the US government to be complied with."
