A Russian court has fined Google an astronomical amount of two undecillion roubles (a two followed by 36 zeroes) for limiting Russian state media channels on YouTube. To put that in perspective, this translates to $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in U.S. dollars, far surpassing Google’s estimated worth of $2 trillion and even exceeding the global GDP, which is around $110 trillion according to the International Monetary Fund.
The fine has escalated to this extreme amount because, as reported by state news agency Tass, it doubles every day it remains unpaid. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the unprecedented size of the fine, saying he “cannot even pronounce this number” but urged Google’s leadership to “pay attention” to the court order. Google has yet to respond publicly or provide a comment to the BBC.
The Background of the Dispute
According to Russian media outlet RBC, the massive fine relates to Google’s restriction of content from 17 Russian media channels on YouTube. These restrictions began in 2020 and intensified following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This led to a major exodus of Western companies from Russia, compounded by strict international sanctions that made business operations there difficult. In response to these actions, Russian media outlets were banned in Europe, triggering retaliatory measures from Moscow.
This fine is the latest escalation in the ongoing tensions between Russia and Google. Previously, in May 2021, Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor accused Google of restricting YouTube access to Russian media channels, including RT and Sputnik, and claimed that it supported “illegal protest activity.” The following year, in July 2022, Russia fined Google 21.1 billion roubles ($301 million) for failing to restrict access to what it considered “prohibited” content related to the war in Ukraine.
With freedom of the press and independent reporting severely restricted in Russia, the government continues to tightly control information, limiting critical or dissenting perspectives in the media. This fine marks a significant moment in the ongoing clash between Russia and the tech giant.
