Google to review its Cambodia-Thailand map

By | 10 February, 2010

Associated Press reported today that Google Inc. would look into a complaint from Cambodia that an online map showing the country’s border with Thailand was wrong, though it stopped short of saying it would change the document.

According to Cambodia’s requested letter that I obtained, the Office of the Council Ministers sent a copy to Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States, and another one to Google Singapore. Aside from accusing the American corporation for misleading public users, the letter primarily refers to the International Court of Justice’s decision in 1962 when the border dispute took place and was resolved.

As Cambodia requested Google Inc. to remove the current map from Google Earth, a virtual globe, map and geographic information computer program, the US corporate suggested Phnom Penh to contact Tele Atlas, a mapping company it says provided the border data to the company.

Google Earth software’s Terms of Service states that:

“Google Earth allow you to access and view a variety of content, including but not limited to photographic imagery, map and terrain data, business listings, reviews, traffic, and other related information provided by Google, its licensors, and its users (the “Content”)”.

In this respect, Google clearly mentions that every bit of information that makes up the map as a product is not entirely delivered by the giant company alone.

The Term of Service also continues in all capital letters that:

“(a) GOOGLE AND ITS LICENSORS (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO TELE ATLAS AND ITS SUPPLIERS) MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES REGARDING THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY CONTENT OR THE PRODUCTS.”

In this AP’s article, Google embroiled in Thai-Cambodia border dispute, it quoted Ross LaJeunesse, Google’s head of public policy and government affairs for Asia Pacific, who said that: “We understand that the governments of both Thailand and Cambodia are pursuing bilateral negotiations to clarify the existing borders between the two countries and we would be happy to review any authoritative border data which the government of Cambodia can provide.”

 



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