U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an order directing the interior secretary to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” as Canada trade war persists.
Trump cannot force Canada to follow his preferred naming convention, however.
The move is reminiscent of his move last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
Make a note on which maps companies comply in the US and boycott them.
That’s my knee-jerk reaction too, but on further reflection I’m not sure.
Sure, Google making sure it’s Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico in Google Maps is a nice thought, but that would be a strong political stand. Simply passing through the “official” names isn’t political, and I can’t judge too harshly companies not making specific political stands.
Ultimately, we have to all know that the names of these bodies of water will revert to their real names as soon as 'ol Donny kicks the bucket, right?
We have no assurances of that, and Google and Apple have no legal obligation to do this.
We have no assurances of anything in this life, but if I’m a betting man I put money on these stupid names being reverted when/if an adult is in the White House again.
And unless you work for Google/Apple/Microsoft in the GIS departments, you really have no idea if they do or don’t have legal obligation to pass through GNIS data.
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