Editing Google Maps (section)

=== Potential misuse ===
{{See also|Google Street View privacy concerns|List of satellite map images with missing or unclear data}}
In 2005 the [[Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation]] (ANSTO) complained about the potential for terrorists to use the satellite images in planning attacks, with specific reference to the [[Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor|Lucas Heights nuclear reactor]]; however, the Australian Federal government did not support the organization's concern. At the time of the ANSTO complaint, Google had colored over some areas for security (mostly in the U.S.), such as the rooftop of the [[White House]] and several other Washington, D.C. buildings.<ref>{{cite web |title=Blurred Out: 51 Things You Aren't Allowed to See on Google Maps |url=http://www.itsecurity.com/features/51-things-not-on-google-maps-071508/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721174419/http://www.itsecurity.com/features/51-things-not-on-google-maps-071508/ |archive-date=July 21, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Google Maps: The White House — Elliott C. Back |url=http://elliottback.com/wp/archives/2005/04/08/google-maps-the-white-house/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201202900/http://elliottback.com/wp/archives/2005/04/08/google-maps-the-white-house/ |archive-date=December 1, 2008 |access-date=August 27, 2010 |website=Elliottback.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Barlow |first=Karen |date=August 8, 2005 |title=Google Earth prompts security fears |newspaper=ABC News Online |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/featureitems/s1432602.htm |access-date=November 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616031427/http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/featureitems/s1432602.htm |archive-date=June 16, 2009}}</ref>

In October 2010, Nicaraguan military commander [[Edén Pastora]] [[Costa Rica–Nicaragua San Juan River border dispute#2010 Isla Calero dispute|stationed Nicaraguan troops]] on the [[Isla Calero]] (in the delta of the [[San Juan River (Nicaragua)|San Juan River]]), justifying his action on the border delineation given by Google Maps. Google has since updated its data which it found to be incorrect.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 5, 2010 |title=Google Maps border becomes part of international dispute |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-05/tech/nicaragua.raid.google.maps_1_google-maps-google-spokeswoman-google-earth? |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508142002/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-05/tech/nicaragua.raid.google.maps_1_google-maps-google-spokeswoman-google-earth |first=John D. |last=Sutter |archive-date=May 8, 2012 |access-date=April 25, 2012 |publisher=CNN }}</ref>

On January 27, 2014, documents leaked by [[Edward Snowden]] revealed that the [[NSA]] and the [[GCHQ]] intercepted Google Maps queries made on smartphones, and used them to locate the users making these queries. One leaked document, dating to 2008, stated that "[i]t effectively means that anyone using Google Maps on a smartphone is working in support of a GCHQ system."<ref>{{cite news |last=Ball |first=James |date=January 28, 2014 |title=Angry Birds and 'leaky' phone apps targeted by NSA and GCHQ for user data |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/27/nsa-gchq-smartphone-app-angry-birds-personal-data |url-status=live |access-date=March 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302173109/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/27/nsa-gchq-smartphone-app-angry-birds-personal-data |archive-date=March 2, 2014}}</ref>

In May 2015, searches on Google Maps for offensive racial epithets for African Americans pointed the user to the [[White House]]; Google apologized for the incident.<ref>Gibbs, Samuel. [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/20/google-apologises-racist-google-maps-white-house-search-results Google says sorry over racist Google Maps White House search results] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414183643/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/20/google-apologises-racist-google-maps-white-house-search-results|date=April 14, 2022}}. [[The Guardian]]. Retrieved on 15 April 2022</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fung |first=Brian |date=2021-12-06 |title=If you search Google Maps for the N-word, it gives you the White House |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/05/19/if-you-search-google-maps-for-the-n-word-it-gives-you-the-white-house/ |access-date=2023-09-22 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=April 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423140612/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/05/19/if-you-search-google-maps-for-the-n-word-it-gives-you-the-white-house/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2015, 3 Japanese [[netizen]]s were charged with vandalism after they were found to have added an unrelated law firm's name as well as indecent names to locations such as "[[Nuclear test site]]" to the [[Hiroshima Peace Memorial|Atomic Bomb Dome]] and "Izumo [[Aum Shinrikyo|Satya]]" to the [[Izumo-taisha|Izumo Taisha]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-02 |title=グーグルマップ改ざん、３人書類送検 業務妨害容疑 |url=http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASHD1346ZHD1UTIL00L.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201025122/http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASHD1346ZHD1UTIL00L.html |archive-date=2015-12-01 |access-date=2024-03-02 |website=[[Asahi Shimbun]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-12-01 |title=グーグルマップの施設名を勝手に書き換え 大学生ら3人書類送検 |url=http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00309945.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151204054032/http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00309945.html |archive-date=2015-12-04 |access-date=2024-03-02 |website=FNN Prime Online}}</ref>

In February 2020, the artist Simon Weckert<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.simonweckert.com/googlemapshacks.html |title=Google Maps Hacks |website=Simon Weckert |access-date=31 July 2024 |archive-date=August 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240806221436/https://www.simonweckert.com/googlemapshacks.html |url-status=live }}</ref> used 99 cell phones to fake a Google Maps traffic jam.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=An Artist Used 99 Phones to Fake a Google Maps Traffic Jam |url=https://www.wired.com/story/99-phones-fake-google-maps-traffic-jam/ |magazine=Wired |language=en |issn=1059-1028 |access-date=2020-02-04 |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117015636/https://www.wired.com/story/99-phones-fake-google-maps-traffic-jam/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2024, several schools in Taiwan and Hong Kong were altered to incorrect labels, such as "[[psychiatric hospitals]]" or "[[prisons]]". Initially, it was believed to be the result of hacker attacks. However, police later revealed that local students had carried out the prank. Google quickly corrected the mislabeled entries. Education officials in Taiwan and Hong Kong expressed concern over the incident.<ref>{{cite web | last=Liu | first=Oscar | title=Hong Kong officials concerned over pranksters renaming schools on Google Maps | website=South China Morning Post | date=2024-09-19 | url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3279201/nobi-nobita-college-hong-kong-concerned-over-pranksters-renaming-schools-google-maps | access-date=2024-11-18 | archive-date=November 22, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241122211426/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3279201/nobi-nobita-college-hong-kong-concerned-over-pranksters-renaming-schools-google-maps | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | first=Jono | last=Thomson | title=Google says spoofed Taiwan school names being fixed | website=Taiwan News | date=2024-09-23 | url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5940375 | access-date=2024-11-18 | archive-date=November 29, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241129194448/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5940375 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=Google地圖改校名之亂 警查出是學生惡搞學校 | url=https://udn.com/news/story/6885/8250089 | website=聯合新聞網 | language=zh-Hant-TW | last=聯合新聞網 | access-date=2024-11-18 | archive-date=December 31, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241231053629/https://udn.com/news/story/6885/8250089 | url-status=live }}</ref>