Google map editor back online after hacking prank

Google’s map editing feature is back online in some countries, months after rogue users hacked the service for a few colorful pranks.

One user drew a park in the shape of the Android cartoon droid peeing on the Apple logo. The post made the rounds on the Internet to great amusement, but Google found the prank less entertaining. The tech giant suspended the map service in May.

“We have been experiencing escalated attacks to spam Google Maps over the past few months,” wrote Google Map Maker team member Pavithra Kanakarajan in a product forum post after the prank. “The most recent incident was particularly troubling and unfortunate.”

{mosads}Now, Map Maker is back in Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, India, Philippines and Ukraine, according to a Monday post by Kanakarajan.

Google has put in place new quality controls, including designating “regional leads,” who will moderate edits in their area. This will slow the upload process, but allow Google to weed out any errant-shaped parkland. The company has also put a moratorium on adding geometric shapes to the maps.

Map Maker is a browser-based editing feature that lets Google crowdsource a staggering amount of hard-to-get information, including details about remote locations like North Korea and street-by-street data for major cities.

Google will reintroduce Map Maker in other countries over the coming weeks.

The news comes in a busy month for the tech giant. Earlier this week, Google announced plans to restructure under a new parent company called Alphabet.

And digital pranksters aren’t Google’s only worries. The company has until Aug. 31 to counter European Union charges that it abused its market power in 12 E.U. countries — an antitrust charge that could result in a billion-euro fine. A second extension to the original July 7 deadline was announced on Thursday.