Google Maps gets new tools to crack down on political brutality

At first glance, Google Maps doesn’t exactly seem like a hub for political activism — it’s more like “My car is on E right now, where is the nearest gas station?” One type of problem solver, mostly concerned with getting us where we need to go. But often we hear of it becoming an unexpected platform for political discourse – such as when it was review-bombed by users protesting the name-change to “America” ​​in the Gulf. However, such stories may become less frequent going forward, as Maps prompts the Gemini channel to block such content at the source.

we’re really looking at something new google maps Today safeguards against unwanted contributions on two fronts. First, there are the reviews. Here, Google says it is enhancing the tools it uses to detect spammy reviews of local business. This could possibly include unwanted political commentary, but it seems Google’s main interest is in preventing people from trying to blackmail businesses with a bunch of bad reviews. If the reviews you’re seeing got so bad that Google had to temporarily block further submissions, you should start seeing alerts in Maps over the next few weeks.

A little more interestingly, Google also says it is using Gemini in Maps to prevent attempts to tamper with place names. We don’t hear about it often, but occasionally one comes forward and becomes news, as happened in 2016. “Dump” Tower, New York City.

Well, we hope you enjoyed it, because it seems much more difficult to get rid of it later on. Google is using Gemini to flag edits to keep names — and in particular, it’s looking for changes that might promote social or political commentary — and prevent them from appearing publicly in Maps in the first place.

Nothing about this represents a policy change for Google – it’s just about better, more automated enforcement. Google Maps Policies “Prohibit content that contains general, political, or social commentary or personal boasting.”