Russia Imposes Astronomical Fine on Google for Banning State-Controlled YouTube Channels

 

Russia has issued an unprecedented fine of 20 undecillion rubles (approximately $2.5 decillion) against Google, following the removal of Russian state-run YouTube channels in response to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This staggering amount translates to $2,500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, highlighting the scale of the penalty the tech giant now faces.

According to Russian news agency TASS, the fine results from violations of the country’s administrative offenses code due to Google’s ban on various YouTube channels. The court ruling stipulates that if Google does not pay the fine within nine months, the amount will double each day thereafter, with no cap on the final total. Additionally, the company could face a ban from operating in Russia until the fine is settled.

The legal proceedings stemmed from complaints made by 17 YouTube channels, including those affiliated with the Russian state, after Google blocked channels such as RT and Sputnik in the wake of the conflict. In its Q2 2024 report, Google acknowledged the pressures exerted by Russian authorities, noting the impact of civil judgments and penalties related to account terminations, particularly concerning sanctioned entities.

Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, described the fine as “an insane number,” explaining that it is equivalent to 1.9 x 10^15 times greater than the current global GDP. He further elaborated that if Google were to remit everything produced globally in a year, it would only cover about 3% of the fine.

Google, which has a market value of $2.24 trillion and reported a profit of $73.7 billion last year, would theoretically take 33.8 quintillion years to pay this fine based on its current earnings. Such astronomical figures dwarf the total value of the global economy, estimated at around $105 trillion.

In October 2023, Google’s Russian subsidiary was declared bankrupt by a Moscow court after the Russian government seized its bank accounts, preventing the company from paying staff and suppliers. Despite ongoing pressures regarding content deemed illegal by Russian authorities, Google has not yet faced a total ban from operating in the country.