The dotted lines that mark the disputed border between Western Sahara and Morocco—used to indicate the territory’s contested status—have never been visible to people using Google Maps inside Morocco. After recent media reports linked the discrepancy to a UN Security Council decision endorsing Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, Google acknowledged it has long shown the border differently depending on the user’s location.
“We have not made changes to Morocco or Western Sahara on Google Maps,” a Google spokesperson told Agence France-Presse, adding that the labels follow its longstanding policies for disputed regions. “People using Maps outside of Morocco see Western Sahara and a dotted line to represent its disputed border; people using Maps in Morocco do not see Western Sahara.”
Western Sahara is a large, mineral-rich former Spanish colony largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which is backed by Algeria. The UN Security Council had previously urged Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania to resume talks aimed at a broad settlement. However, at the initiative of the Trump administration, the council’s resolution supported a plan first proposed by Rabat in 2007 under which Western Sahara would have autonomy but remain under Morocco’s sovereignty.
