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Google has added America to their list of 'sensitive countries'.
Following recent complaints from the President of Mexico about Google Maps renaming the Gulf of Mexico, it looks like Claudia Sheinbaum could be getting the last laugh. There's a lot of political unrest in the world right now, which is largely what led to the Doomsday Clock ticking forward in 2025. America has arguably never been more divided, with the return of Donald Trump to the White House being a cause for concern for many.
The POTUS has signed a wave of executive orders targeting everything from immigration to transgender rights. Now, CNBC reports that Google has reclassified America and placed it on a list of 'sensitive' countries.
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Google's list includes countries that have strict governments and border disputes, with the USA joining a small group alongside China, Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. CNBC says it's viewed documentation that reclassifies America from being a 'non-sensitive' country. The timing seems like no coincidence, with the designation coming the same day that Google announced it was renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the 'Gulf of America'. Mexico has also been added to Google's sensitive list.
The sensitive countries moniker is reserved for places that have 'unique geometry or unique labeling', although it's unclear whether Google's labeling extends beyond its 'Geo' division.
Internal correspondence reportedly shows that Google staffers were told to 'urgently' make changes, with the USA getting a rare 'P0' order that instructed them to drop whatever they were working on and immediately enact the reclassification.
Google has reiterated that the Gulf of America naming will be treated in the same way to the Persian Gulf, which is named the Arabian Gulf in Arab countries. Google posted on X and explained the change, writing: "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."
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
As for being labeled as sensitive, Google said that it often lists countries as sensitive if they rename certain areas: "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 change comes at a difficult time for America where a mass of companies have changed their policies to fall in line with President Trump. With the heads of Meta, TikTok, and Amazon attending Trump's inauguration, they've also updated their company guidelines to align with the POTUS' new regime.
