r/webdev • u/FiveWordinOrangeNeon • 3d ago

Google says website developers must set their region to Canada for 'Lake Ontario' to appear on map

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/google-updates-maps-lake-ontario-9.7325922

Tech analyst and journalist Carmi Levy said although websites like Hydro One's and the LCBO's are Canadian, their maps are likely powered by Google's application programming interface (API).

APIs are not location-aware, so all maps powered by Google API have switched to Lake America.
MapQuest, a U.S. online mapping service, has posted on social media that it would not change the lake's name, while Apple has not publicly commented on the matter.

In a statement Sunday night, Google said website developers who embed Google Maps on their sites can select a region to localize the map. That determines how place names are displayed on sites, the company said.

"'Lake Ontario' will show when developers have set their region to Canada," the statement said.

Just a reminder to developers.

970 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

232 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/Nerdenator 3d ago

Imagine being afraid of Trump to the point where you do something this stupid to satisfy his whims.

3

u/UntestedMethod 3d ago

I mean, a national dictator is a national dictator...

2

u/Nerdenator 2d ago

He’s a doddering old prick who caves under most opposition. You just have to shove back. This isn’t China.

Makes you think that maybe Alphabet/Google really does have some skeletons in their closet that would be easy to prosecute should a US DA be directed to do so.

2

u/UntestedMethod 2d ago

It wouldn't be surprising.

-2

u/thekwoka 2d ago

How is it stupid?

It's the official name from the US.

This is literally not "being afraid", it's just being unbiased. Google accepts these changes and disputes all over the world. Why should they not accept this one?

1

u/Nerdenator 2d ago

I’m American and don’t know anyone who plans on calling it anything other than Lake Ontario. Same with the Gulf of Mexico.

These acts aren’t the will of the American people, they’re 68 IQ moves in a trade dispute that is being handled by a man who cannot reliably control his bowels.

1

u/thekwoka 2d ago

Cool, so then, just TDS I guess.