On a recent Monday in the West Bank, a human rights attorney found herself stuck in traffic for nine hours to drive a distance less than 10 miles. Israeli authorities had set up a temporary checkpoint on her route, causing a massive backup of cars on a busy highway in the disputed Palestinian territory. This is a common occurrence for residents of the West Bank, who have long complained about missing and outdated data on Google Maps, making the app unreliable and difficult to use.
The start of the war in Gaza in October of last year has only exacerbated these issues, making it even more challenging for drivers to navigate the region. This has prompted Palestinians to turn to social media to crowdsource information about road conditions and congestion. While some of the problems faced by users are outside of Google’s control, such as the increased presence of checkpoints and interference with GPS readings by Israel, many believe that the tech giant could be doing more to make Google Maps safer and more dependable for Palestinians.
According to current and former Google employees, there have been ongoing efforts within the company to urge leaders to make improvements to Google Maps that would benefit Palestinians. However, a current employee alleges that users in the West Bank have largely abandoned the app for navigation, based on internal data they have seen. Google has denied any bias in their mapping of the region and claims to be constantly working to update and improve the accuracy of their data.
While Google has made efforts to update road, street, and place information in the West Bank and Gaza, there is still room for improvement. As a highly complex and disputed area, it is crucial for Google to ensure that their mapping data is accurate and up-to-date to prevent users from encountering traffic jams, walls, and restricted roads. The company should continue to work closely with organizations and data suppliers in the region to improve the reliability of Google Maps for users in the West Bank.
