Russia is seeking an unfathomable sum of money from one of the world’s biggest tech companies.
Google reportedly owes the Kremlin more than 2 undecillion rubles — a 2 followed by 36 zeroes — after refusing to pay fines for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube.
The virtually unpronounceable penalty amounts to $20 decillion — or around $20 billion trillion trillion. That dwarfs the size of the global economy.
At $110 trillion, according to International Monetary Fund figures, world gross domestic product looks modest in comparison. Google parent Alphabet, meanwhile, has a market value of around $2 trillion.
Russian state media TASS reported this week that a Russian court has ordered Google to restore the YouTube channels or else face mounting charges. If the fine is not paid within nine months, it starts to double every day, a lawyer involved in the case told TASS.
“Google can return to the Russian market only if it complies with the court’s decision,” TASS reported.
A Russian court has slapped a $20 decillion fine on Google for blocking 17 YouTube channels belonging to local TV networks, RBC reports.
The imposed fine is more than Google’s $2 trillion market value and the World Bank’s estimated global GDP of just over $100 trillion. The fine will continue to compound until YouTube unblocks the channels suing it, the report adds.
The issue dates back to 2020 when YouTube blocked Tsargrad TV after the US imposed sanctions against its owner. At the time, the court had ordered a daily fine of 100,000 rubles ($1,025) per day, with the total amount set to double every week the fine was unpaid.
Things escalated after YouTube blocked more channels following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A total of 17 channels sued Google, and the court’s latest order was passed after calculating the fines for each.
“Google was called by a Russian court to administrative liability under Art. 13.41 of the Administrative Offenses Code for removing channels on the YouTube platform. The court ordered the company to restore these channels,” lawyer Ivan Morozov told the state-owned TASS news agency.