MapQuest Tops App Store Over 'Lake America' Refusal

"We took the same approach we did with the Gulf of Mexico: be part of the conversation, and give people an app that keeps the names they're familiar with," MapQuest general manager Doug Berger said Monday. "Hundreds of thousands of people signaled to us this weekend that we got it right, by downloading our app."

Google said the update followed its long-standing practice of using names supplied by official government sources — the same rationale it used when the Gulf of Mexico was renamed the Gulf of America in 2025.

That explanation has not landed well with some users. Newsweek reported that Google Maps has drawn a wave of negative reviews on Trustpilot and its own help forums, with some users saying they deleted the app or switched to MapQuest. "Lake America does not exist. The correct name of the lake is Lake Ontario," one U.S. reviewer wrote. Another posted: "Shame on you for caving to politics and not standing up for what is right."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the Lake Ontario name is more than 400 years old and predates both Canadian Confederation and the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and that Canada would keep using it "then, now, and always." Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre said the lake was not Trump's to rename "on a whim."

Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca called for the order to be rescinded, calling it an attempt to erase Indigenous history: "The President cannot assert ownership over our culture or erase it through irresponsible political action."

The White House did not immediately respond to a CBS News request for comment on MapQuest's decision. Apple has not publicly commented. Newsweek said it contacted Google for comment Tuesday.