Why has Iraq decided to ban online map service Waze?

Iraq is set to ban the popular navigation app Waze, which was founded in Israel.

Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad announced the move on Tuesday. It has prompted discussions in Iraq over whether the country can build its own alternative and whether banning one app protects users’ location data.

The Ministry of Communications plans to block the use of Waze by the end of December, according to the Iraqi newspaper Al-Mada.

Sanad told the broadcaster Rudaw that it would take effect some time at the start of 2027.

He made the announcement on the sidelines of the Hitex 2026 technology exhibition in Erbil, the capital of the semiautonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

“Because it comes from the entity [Israel] and is Israeli-made, we will ban it at the beginning of 2027,” he said.

Waze is a widely used navigation app. Hundreds of motorists, including taxi drivers, use it to get around. The service relies on users to report traffic jams, accidents and police checkpoints as they happen.

It was developed in Israel, and Google bought it in 2013 for nearly $1bn.