Google’s Turn to Pay Up! Russian Court Goes Big, You Have to See This!

A Russian court has imposed a massive fine on Google for blocking content from over a dozen TV channels on YouTube, sparking international attention. The fine began accumulating in 2020 after Russian broadcasters Tsargrad TV and RIA FAN sued Google for removing their content from the platform, according to Novaya Gazeta. The situation escalated as 15 additional channels, many of which are state-backed, also won legal battles against the tech giant.

The current fine stands at an astonishing 2 undecillion rubles. For perspective, that’s a figure with 36 zeros after it, translating to approximately $20 decillion U.S. dollars (a figure with 34 zeros). This astronomical number far exceeds Google’s financial reach, as even its parent company, Alphabet, is valued at just $2 trillion, making it one of the world’s most valuable corporations.

Despite the court ruling, it seems improbable that Google will pay the fine. The company has been defiant since the case began, and even if it wanted to settle, the sheer size of the fine would make it impossible. As RBC-Ukraine reported, the penalty continues to double every week that Google doesn’t comply. If this trend persists, experts estimate that within 219 weeks, the amount could grow to a mind-boggling $1 googol—a number with 100 zeros.

Unsurprisingly, Google has not publicly commented on the situation. However, the financial burden is not the only fallout. In 2022, a subsidiary of Google in Russia filed for bankruptcy after the courts seized over $100 million in the company’s assets, as reported by The Telegraph. Google has fought back by countersuing several Russian media companies to prevent them from pursuing its assets outside of Russia, targeting countries like South Africa, Turkey, Serbia, and Kyrgyzstan.

The origins of the YouTube block on Tsargrad TV trace back to sanctions imposed by the U.S. government on its owner, Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian oligarch heavily involved in Russia’s 2014 and 2022 military actions in Ukraine. The case of RIA FAN is equally complex. According to Novaya Gazeta, the outlet was founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a key figure behind the Wagner Group, a notorious mercenary organization. Prigozhin, once a strong ally of President Vladimir Putin, led a failed mutiny against him in 2022, which ended tragically when Prigozhin’s jet mysteriously crashed, killing all aboard.

Google’s actions against these and other Russian-owned channels stem from a broader compliance with U.S. sanctions. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, YouTube has blocked hundreds of Russia-affiliated channels, including RT. The company has defended its actions, stating that some of these channels have been removed for spreading content that “minimizes or trivializes well-documented violent events,” directly referring to Russia’s aggressive moves in Ukraine.

This legal clash between Google and Russian media outlets highlights the tensions between multinational corporations and national laws, especially in geopolitically sensitive situations. While the fine may seem absurdly large and unrealistic, the implications of these legal battles continue to affect Google’s operations in Russia and other regions.

In this ever-evolving situation, one thing is clear: the standoff between the tech giant and Russian authorities is far from over, and its global ramifications are only just beginning to unfold.