Russian Court Imposes Staggering $20 Decillion Fine on Google

A Russian court has issued a monumental fine against Google, ordering the tech giant to pay approximately $20 decillion, a figure that surpasses the global GDP and even Google’s market capitalization. This fine, which translates to 20 followed by 33 zeros or two undecillion rubles, is the cumulative result of demands from 17 Russian television networks and various media organizations whose content has been restricted on YouTube.

The fine is largely symbolic, as acknowledged by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who stated that it is meant to prompt Google to rectify the situation and stop inhibiting Russian broadcasters on their platform. The case originated in 2020 when Google blocked channels associated with the Wagner Group‘s mercenary leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and expanded after YouTube prohibited additional channels following Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine.

The fine has been escalating since 2020, with the court directing Google to reinstate the blocked accounts within a nine-month timeframe. For each day beyond this period, Google was fined 100,000 rubles (approximately $1,000), with the fine doubling weekly and no cap on the total amount.

In addition to this massive fine, some Russian media organizations have also sought legal action in other countries, including Turkey, Hungary, Spain, and South Africa, to enforce Russian court rulings against Google. Recently, South Africa’s High Court approved a motion to seize certain assets of Google within the nation.

The news has had a minor impact on Google’s parent company, Alphabet, with shares dipping by 1.2% in pre-market trading following the announcement, despite a favorable reaction to the company’s quarterly earnings report the previous day).