The dotted line that indicates the disputed border between Western Sahara and Morocco is not shown to people using Google Maps inside Morocco. That line, and the Western Sahara label, appear for users outside Morocco but have long been hidden for users within the country, according to Google.
The discrepancy drew attention after media reports linked it to a recent UN Security Council decision that backed Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara. Google told Agence France-Presse that it “has not made changes to Morocco or Western Sahara on Google Maps,” and that its labeling follows 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,” the company said.
Western Sahara is a large, mineral-rich former Spanish colony that is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which is supported by Algeria. For years the UN Security Council has urged Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania to resume talks toward a comprehensive settlement. At the initiative of the Trump administration, a later council resolution endorsed a plan first proposed by Rabat in 2007 under which Western Sahara would gain autonomy while remaining under Moroccan sovereignty.