Mexican President Threatens to Sue Google Over 'Gulf of America' Label on Maps

The president of Mexico on Thursday expressed hope that Google "reconsiders" its decision to change its online maps to reflect U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that he has the authority to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico.

Shortly after taking office, Trump issued an executive order announcing he was changing the name of the body of water to the Gulf of America.

For U.S. users of Google Maps, the gulf was listed as the Gulf of America as of Thursday. Google, whose CEO attended Trump's inauguration along with other tech moguls, said last month it has "a long-standing practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources."

But Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum warned Thursday that her government "will file a civil suit" against Google if it does not revert back to labeling the international body of water the Gulf of Mexico.

"Our legal area is already looking into what that would mean, but we hope that [Google] reconsiders," said Sheinbaum in a press briefing.

The president added that Trump does not have the authority to rename the gulf because the U.S. only "has sovereignty... up to 22 nautical miles from the coast."

Trump's decree has received mixed responses from various authorities on geographic names. Apple Maps and Bing Maps have made the name change in their systems, while Encyclopedia Britannica said it will not use the name Gulf of America, noting that the gulf "is an international body of water, and the U.S.'s authority to rename it is ambiguous."

The Associated Press has said it will continue using the name Gulf of Mexico while acknowledging Trump's executive order. The decision resulted in the outlet's reporters being barred from the White House this week—a move U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) called "straight-up press censorship based on retaliatory viewpoint discrimination."

Before threatening legal action against Google, Sheinbaum mocked Trump's claim that he can unilaterally change the name of an international body of water, asking at a public event: "Why don't we call [North America] 'Mexican America?' Sounds nice, doesn't it?"