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Russia has hit Google with an astronomical fine for removing state-run and pro-government channels from its YouTube platform.
The figures involved are mammoth, said to be much greater than the overall global GDP, estimated at $110 trillion by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The fine amounts to 2 undecillion rubles or $20 decillion, that is two and a half trillion trillion trillion dollars or $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to put it into figures.
Over the last four years, court action in Russia has resulted in the growth of the fine, which the country insists must be paid before the Alphabet-owned company can return to the market.
As reported by The Register, the catalyst for the ongoing legal saga was YouTube’s decision to switch off the Russian nationalist channel Tsagrad in 2020. Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, the ban has escalated to include the block of accounts belonging to RT, Sputnik, and more.
A Russian court has fined Google $20 decillion (£15.4 decillion), which is a 20 with 33 zeros and is a number greater than the world’s combined wealth, grains of sand on earth or stars in the sky ⬇️ https://t.co/147FGAAfa8
— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) October 30, 2024
Google “Clearly will not pay this penalty”
If the fine is not paid within nine months, an increasing total (due to non-payment) will be applied, with the amount set to double each day.
Even with its status as a multinational tech giant, Google – which was accused by Microsoft of orchestrating ‘shadow campaigns’ – simply cannot afford to meet such a demand and it appears very unlikely it has any interest in doing so.
Its parent company Alphabet has a market capitalization of just over $2 trillion, with earnings of $80.5b in the last quarter. That puts the vast figures into perspective.
Roman Yankovsky, from the HSE Institute of Education in Moscow, told the TASS press agency that Google “clearly will not pay this penalty, and the Russian Federation will not be able to recover this money from the company,” with the legal claims and terms only having domestic jurisdiction.
Image credit: Via Midjourney
