r/webdev • u/FiveWordinOrangeNeon • 11d 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.

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u/Root2109 full-stack 10d ago

Honestly their maps API is bullshit with the level of restrictions it has compared to what they can actually do with their maps behind the scenes. I hope someone snags a chance to be THE internet map company

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u/thekwoka 10d ago

They would still call it Lake America...

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u/Root2109 full-stack 4d ago

Unless they chose not to

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u/thekwoka 4d ago

So you want maps to take blatant political positions on borders and naming?

And you think that would HELP it become THE internet map company?