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In an extraordinary ruling, Russia has imposed a record-breaking fine of $2.5 decillion on Google for refusing to reinstate pro-Kremlin and state-affiliated media accounts on YouTube, according to the RBC news website. Sources with knowledge of the legal proceedings disclosed that daily penalties of 100,000 rubles began accumulating in 2020 after Russian outlets Tsargrad and RIA FAN won court cases against Google for blocking their channels. These fines have since doubled weekly, resulting in a total penalty now estimated at over 2 undecillion rubles—a staggering amount with 36 zeros.
Google, whose parent company Alphabet posted over $307 billion in revenue in 2023, is highly unlikely to pay this unprecedented fine. Russian courts continue to hear claims against the tech giant from 17 other Russian media outlets, including state-run Channel One, military-affiliated Zvezda, and representatives of RT’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan.
The penalties stem from YouTube’s removal of several Russian state media channels due to their support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In response, Russian authorities levied fines but refrained from blocking YouTube. In compliance with Western sanctions, Google ended its advertising operations in Russia and, in 2022, declared its Russian subsidiary bankrupt, closing down its local division.
Despite this, Google’s search engine and YouTube remain accessible in Russia, even as other Western platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, are blocked. Google’s fine, which lawyer Ivan Morozov reported to TASS as more than 2 undecillion rubles, is compounded daily in a bid to enforce payment, though Google has stated it does not expect this legal standoff to impact its operations.
The tech giant continues to challenge the fines, asserting that these matters do not pose a “material adverse effect” on its global business.
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