Google Maps · Google Maps Platform Terms of Service

Prohibition on Reverse Engineering

Medium severity
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What it is

You are not allowed to try to understand how Google Maps APIs work under the hood by reverse engineering, decompiling, or disassembling the code.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

The ban on reverse engineering means independent researchers and regulators face barriers to auditing how Google Maps processes location data and generates routing or business listing results, reducing algorithmic accountability.

How other platforms handle this

Peloton Medium

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OpenAI Medium

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Midjourney Medium

Both the Services and the Assets are provided to Customer on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties or conditions of TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

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Why it matters (compliance & risk perspective)

This restriction prevents developers from independently verifying how the Maps Platform processes data, which has implications for security auditing, bias analysis, and regulatory compliance in jurisdictions that require algorithmic transparency.

View original clause language
You will not reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, translate, or attempt to extract the source code of the Maps APIs or any component thereof.

Institutional analysis (Compliance & legal intelligence)

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: Reverse engineering restrictions engage the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030), the Digital Millennium Copyright Act §1201 (anti-circumvention), and the EU Software Directive 2009/24/EC Art. 6 (which provides a statutory right to decompile for interoperability purposes that contractual terms cannot override). The EU AI Act and EU Digital Markets Act Art. 6(a) impose algorithmic transparency and interoperability obligations that may conflict with blanket reverse engineering bans.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    Restrictions that prevent security researchers from auditing data practices may be relevant to FTC enforcement of unfair or deceptive practices in data security contexts.
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Provision details

Document information
Document
Google Maps Platform Terms of Service
Entity
Google Maps
Document last updated
March 24, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
March 20, 2026
Last verified
April 9, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-002383
Document ID
CA-D-00324
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
6b3fc9132543f92a0d6e87edb75a218ea1e3c5adb602f1a194b2b81c84dc02d6
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: Google Maps | Document: Google Maps Platform Terms of Service | Record: CA-P-002383
Captured: 2026-03-20 06:28:58 UTC | SHA-256: 6b3fc9132543f92a…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/google-maps/google-maps-platform-terms-of-service/prohibition-on-reverse-engineering/
Accessed: April 29, 2026
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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