Google calls reports of US reclassification as ‘sensitive’ country ‘misleading’

Google has denied reclassifying the US as a ‘sensitive’ country after reports suggested the tech giant made the move following President Donald Trump’s “Gulf of America” comments.

Responding to media reports that Google’s maps division had given the designation it reserves for states with strict governments and border disputes, the company took to X to say that this was “misleading.”

This report is misleading. “Sensitive” is simply used in our internal systems for countries that see different official names in Maps (like a different name for a body of water) — that’s all there is to it. This is common & includes dozens of countries. Adding the U.S. & Mexico…

— News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) January 29, 2025

It added: “‘Sensitive’ is simply used in our internal systems for countries that see different official names in Maps (like a different name for a body of water) — that’s all there is to it. This is common & includes dozens of countries. Adding the U.S. & Mexico to that list means nothing more than that.”

The US got a new classification after President Trump announced plans to change names on official maps and federal communications. That includes renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and changing Mount Denali back to Mount McKinley.

We’ve received a few questions about naming within Google Maps. We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.

— News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) January 27, 2025

According to internal documents seen by CNBC, Google reportedly decided to stop labeling the US as a “non-sensitive” country on Monday (Jan. 27). This came after the company announced it would rename the body of water between the Yucatán and Florida peninsulas as the “Gulf of America” in Google Maps, once the Trump administration updates its official government sources.

Google’s list of “sensitive” countries is said to include China, Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, among others. CNBC reports that the label is also applied to countries with “unique geometry or unique labeling.”

Now, the US and Mexico have been added to that list.

A Google spokesperson told CNBC that the “sensitive” classification is just a technical setting, meaning some labels in those countries might be handled differently than in others.

Silicon Valley has attempted to mend ties with the 47th president, with tech executives, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, seen standing behind him during his inauguration.

ReadWrite has reached out to Google for comment.

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