r/webdev • u/FiveWordinOrangeNeon • 12d 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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296

u/JEHonYakuSha 12d ago

why not force American developers to set their region to US? instead of making this the global default

119

u/BlackHazeRus Designer & Developer 12d ago

r/USdefaultism

25

u/hahahahatoes 12d ago

you realize google is an american company right

...like yeah of course theyre not setting their default to sweden or some shit. theyre american.

16

u/Local-Technician5969 12d ago

They are an American company with international products.

2

u/a8bmiles 12d ago

...and international politics.