Apple deletes Lebanon from its Maps?

Although the checks confirm the actual absence of names on the current version of Apple Maps, the comparison with the competition of Google Maps shows an opposite situation, with dozens of Lebanese villages correctly registered and viewable by users. For its part, the company tried to clarify its position by explaining that this would not be an intentional or punitive removal of map data. According to what was filtered by sources close to the company, the names of the places in that specific region would never have been present in the original database, thus excluding a recent censorship intervention. Apple also clarified that new mapping updates have not yet been released uniformly across all global markets.

The matter takes place in an extremely delicate geopolitical context, where the consolidated industrial ties between Apple and Israel weigh heavily. The Herzliya technological hub in fact represents one of the company’s main research and development centers outside the United States, and recent market operations, such as the acquisition of the Tel Aviv startup Q.ai for around two billion dollars, confirm the strategic centrality of the area for Cupertino.