In a shocking ruling, a Russian court has ordered Google to pay an astonishing $20 decillion in fines for blocking Russian media channels on YouTube. This amount is exponentially larger than the world’s GDP, estimated at $100 trillion. To put this into perspective, Google’s quarterly revenue is around $88 billion, a tiny fraction of the imposed fine.
The lawsuit stems from a four-year court battle initiated by 17 Russian media stations, including ultra-nationalist channel Tsargrad, banned by YouTube in 2020 due to US sanctions against its owner. Other plaintiffs include Zvezda, a TV channel owned by Putin’s Ministry of Defence.
The court’s decision is based on Article 13.41 of the Administrative Offenses Code, which imposes a fine of 100 thousand rubles ($1,025) per day, doubling every week. This compounding interest has led to the astronomical fine.
Google’s Russian operations have been inactive since 2022, following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The company’s bank accounts were seized, and its Russian subsidiary was effectively bankrupted.
Russia is now seeking to seize Google’s assets globally, but experts consider this unlikely. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has expressed confidence that the ongoing legal matters will not have a material adverse effect on their operations.
This ruling highlights the escalating tensions between Russia and global tech giants, as well as the country’s efforts to exert control over online content.