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Google Maps frustrated over alleged road shutdowns

Navigation via Google Maps often guides drivers' routes. On Ascension Day, though, the service dismays numerous road blockages.

Road closures abound on Ascension Day, as per the navigation service's unusual display.
Road closures abound on Ascension Day, as per the navigation service's unusual display.

Google Maps frustrated over alleged road shutdowns

On Ascension Day, Google Maps left many drivers in Germany and adjacent regions bewildered with erroneous information regarding highway closures. Major cities such as Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, and others experienced misleading red indications on roads, according to the German Press Agency (dpa). Authorities in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Mainz, and North Rhine-Westphalia assured the public that there were no closures in place. The disruption also reportedly affected parts of the Netherlands and Belgium, as per Bild newspaper. Several hours later, the false information vanished.

Google accepted responsibility for the issue and launched an investigation. In response to inquiries, a Google Maps representative explained that the app aggregates data from various third-party providers, public sources, and user inputs to ensure the accuracy and currency of the maps. "Typically, these resources deliver a robust foundation for a comprehensive and up-to-date map dataset," they noted. Google encourages users to flag any detected errors to improve the platform's reliability.

It was recently discovered that Google also erroneously displayed Thuringian highway tunnels as closed last month. After receiving a police complaint, the navigation alerts were promptly corrected. The origin of the Ascension Day misinformation is yet to be determined.

[1] https://www.dpa.de/[2] http://www.bild.de/[3] https://www.google.com/[4] https://waze.com/[5] https://www.apple.com/

  1. The incident on Ascension Day, where Google Maps showed false highway closure information in Germany, Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, and other cities, highlights the importance of verifying technology-based general-news before relying on them completely.
  2. Google's explanation that their app gathers data from several third-party providers, public sources, and user inputs to maintain map accuracy and currency emphasizes the need for continuous review and improvement to prevent future technical glitches and ensure the reliability of the general-news presented.

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