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Friday, November 22, 2024  
19 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446  

Russia demands astronomical sum from Google over YouTube fines

Failure to comply could result in escalating penalties, with fines doubling each week
The Google logo is seen on the Google house at CES 2024, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US on January 10, 2024. Reuters
The Google logo is seen on the Google house at CES 2024, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US on January 10, 2024. Reuters

Russia is pursuing an astonishing amount of money from Google, claiming that the tech giant owes over 2 undecillion rubles—equivalent to a 2 followed by 36 zeroes—refusal to pay fines for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube.

The staggering fine amounts to $20 decillion, or approximately $20 billion trillion trillion, a figure that far exceeds the size of the global economy.

In contrast, the world’s gross domestic product, estimated at $110 trillion by the International Monetary Fund, seems relatively modest. Meanwhile, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has a market value of about $2 trillion.

Russian state media TASS reported this week that a court in Russia has ordered Google to restore several YouTube channels that have been blocked since 2022. Failure to comply could result in escalating penalties, with fines doubling each week.

During a press call on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the staggering amount, admitting he “can’t even pronounce this figure right,” but noted its “symbolic” significance. He added that Google should not restrict the operations of Russian broadcasters on its platform.

In its recent quarterly earnings report, the company mentioned “ongoing legal matters” related to its operations in Russia.

Google stated, “Civil judgments that include compounding penalties have been imposed on us due to disputes regarding the termination of accounts, including those of sanctioned parties.” The company added that it does not believe these legal issues will materially impact its earnings.

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