Why fine Google $1 million when you can fine it $20.5 decillion?
A Russian court has ordered Google to pay a fine worth more than the entire world’s GDP — with an additional $1 million daily penalty — after the tech giant allegedly barred pro-Moscow propaganda channels on YouTube.
The absurd amount would be written as 20 followed by 33 zeros, which far eclipses Google’s own $2 trillion value — and is akin to the outrageous ransom demands made by the fictional Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movie franchise.
The penalty, first reported by Russia’s RBC state news agency, was issued Tuesday as the result of an initial $1 million fine levied against the company four years ago for banning the pro-Kremlin YouTube channels Tsargrad and RIA FAN.
Russian courts had warned at the time that the amount would double every day until the balance was paid and the YouTube accounts restored.
Google shut down its Russian division in 2022 following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, with its local subsidiary declaring bankruptcy.
The company also closed its Google AdSense in Russia over the summer, meaning local content creators would “no longer be able to receive monetization.”
Google and its YouTube services have remained accessible to Russians, with the legal battle taking a turn in August when Moscow seized more than $100 million from Google’s bankruptcy entity to help fund the war in Ukraine, the Telegraph reports.
Russia touted that the money was handed to the channels blocked by Google, including Tsargrad, which is owned by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, according to court documents.
“Tsargrad received 1 billion roubles from the seizure, which it said it would use to support Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Google said in one of the court filings.
Google is fighting efforts by Russian broadcasters seeking to enforce the fines in other countries, including Turkey, South Africa and Serbia.
The company appeared unfazed by Russia’s demands in its latest earnings reports published Tuesday night.
“We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect,” it stated.
The news appears to also have had no impact on Google’s parent company, Alphabet, which saw its stocks rise by more than 5% as of Wednesday morning.
