Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
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Title: Google Maps falsely told drivers in Germany that roads across the
country were closed

Date: Fri, 30 May 2025 13:40:26 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/apps/google-maps-fal...

Chaos ensued on German roads this week after Google Maps wrongly informed
drivers that highways throughout the country were closed during a busy
holiday. Many of the apparently closed roads were located near large German
cities and metropolitan areas, including Berlin, D├╝sseldorf and Dortmund.

As reported by a locally based journalist for The Guardian, drivers opening
GoogleΓÇÖs navigation app would see a swarm of red dots used to indicate no-
go areas, which resulted in people looking for alternative routes that caused
traffic pile-ups nationwide. The Guardian also reported that police and local
authorities were contacted by people confused (and presumably pretty annoyed)
about the supposed standstill.

To compound the issue, the Google Maps error coincided with the beginning of
GermanyΓÇÖs Ascension Day public holiday on May 29, which meant the roads
were even busier than usual.

In ganz Deutschland
Chaos bei Google Maps: Dienst zeigt unzählige falsche
Sperrungenhttps://t.co/qEfIRrIHx3

ΓÇö Peter Berger (@leosgeminix) May 29, 2025

The problem reportedly only lasted for a few hours and by Thursday afternoon
only genuine road closures were being displayed. ItΓÇÖs not clear whether
Google Maps had just malfunctioned, or if something more nefarious was to
blame. "The information in Google Maps comes from a variety of sources.
Information such as locations, street names, boundaries, traffic data, and
road networks comes from a combination of third-party providers, public
sources, and user input," a spokesperson for Google told German newspaper
Berliner Morgenpost, adding that it is internally reviewing the problem. "In
general, these sources provide a strong foundation for comprehensive and up-
to-date maps."

Technical issues with Google Maps are not uncommon. Back in March, users were
reporting that their Timeline ΓÇö which keeps track of all the places
youΓÇÖve visited before for future reference ΓÇö had been wiped, with Google
later confirming that some people had indeed had their data deleted, and in
some cases, would not be able to recover it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/apps/google-maps-fal...
that-roads-across-the-country-were-closed-134026943.html?src=rss

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