Google Maps Stops Allowing Public Editing After Pranks

Google Maps has put an indefinite freeze on public edits to its maps after several acts of vandalism on the site. Prank edits, including a park drawn to look like Google’s Android robot peeing on the Apple logo, have been cropping up on the site in recent months.

Google had previously allowed members of the public to make changes to maps, such as adding roads, bridges and parks, through a program called Map Maker. Users of the editing community largely self-moderated the content, similar to the way Wikipedia works. However, a growing number of fake edits have appeared on Maps, like a business called “Edwards Snow Den” located within the White House.

Starting Tuesday, public editing of maps is disabled globally, Google Maps staffer Pavithra Kanakarajan said in a post on a support forum. The company had tried to use a manual review process to approve appropriate edits but said the backlog was growing too large. Kanakarajan said Google was working on adding some “intelligent mechanisms” to its moderation system, though she didn’t provide a date for when edits would be possible again.

The 10 Most Ambitious Google Projects

Google Driverless Car The Google Self-Driving Car has been in the works since 2005 after a team of engineers won a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to design an autonomous car. The project, which aims to reduce traffic accidents, has made headway in recent years as states passed laws permitting self-driving cars. Google plans a commercial release between 2017 and 2020.

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Google has been testing balloons which sail into the stratosphere and beam Internet down to Earth.

Jon Shenk—AP

Google's smart contact lenses.

Google/AP

Google Lively Google Lively was a web-based virtual community space where users could design avatars, chat with one another and personalize their online hangout space. The project was discontinued after a six-month stint in 2008 after limited success.

Google/AP

Google Earth Google's virtual map of the Earth allows users to tour the earth with 3-D satellite images. The project, which dates back to 2004, has already found significant applications in disaster relief.

Google/AP

Project Ara Google's build-your-own-smartphone project allows users to customize their handsets to their own preferences, with the possibility of eliminating electronic waste by encouraging users to add hardware updates on their own terms. The team is working towards a limited market pilot in 2015.

Bryan Bedder—Getty Images for Engadget Expand

Disease Detecting Pill Google unveiled its plans to disease-detecting ingestible pill in October, a project that'll let patients access their real-time health data to encourage preventative care. The pill will contain nanoparticles that can bind to certain cells and chemicals, with the possibility of detecting diseases like cancer in early stages.

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Flying Wind Turbines The flying windmill is the project of Makani Power, a wind turbine developer acquired by Google in 2013. The tethered airborne turbines will harness wind energy for the goal of producing low-cost, renewable energy

Andrea Dunlap—Makani Power/AP

Google+ Google's social networking platform launched in 2011, the most successful service after several flops at designing a Facebook competitor, like the now-retired Google Buzz. Today, Google+ boasts over half a billion monthly active users.

Stephen Lam—Reuters

Google Books Google Books dates back to 2004, when Google partnered with libraries and universities to plan to digitize millions of volumes over the next several years. The project aims to make searching books as easy as searching the web.

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