Russia has imposed an unprecedented fine of $2.5 decillion on Google, marking a world record, after years of disputes over Google’s refusal to restore the accounts of pro-Kremlin and state-run media outlets, according to the RBC news website, citing an anonymous source.
This dispute began in 2020 when Russian pro-government media outlets, Tsargrad and RIA FAN, successfully sued Google after their YouTube channels were blocked. Following the lawsuits, Google started incurring a daily penalty of 100,000 rubles, which doubled each week. Over time, these penalties have snowballed into a massive fine amounting to approximately 2 undecillion rubles (an undecillion being a 1 followed by 36 zeros).
Despite Google’s parent company, Alphabet, reporting over $307 billion in revenue in 2023, paying a fine this vast remains unlikely. In addition, 17 Russian TV channels, including state-run Channel One, military-affiliated Zvezda, and a company representing RT’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, have filed similar lawsuits against Google.
YouTube, owned by Google, blocked several Russian state-run media outlets due to their support of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In response, Moscow levied fines against Google but did not go as far as blocking YouTube itself.
In the summer of 2022, Google’s Russian subsidiary filed for bankruptcy, which was finalized in the fall. This followed Alphabet’s earlier decision to halt advertising in Russia to align with Western sanctions. Despite closing its Russian office, many Google services, including its search engine and YouTube, remain accessible in Russia. Although the Kremlin has banned certain social platforms like Twitter and Facebook, it has yet to restrict access to Google’s services.
Russian authorities initially warned Google of daily penalties doubling every 24 hours if not paid, eventually resulting in the current 2 undecillion-ruble fine, according to lawyer Ivan Morozov. Google has stated it will not pay the fines, citing in its last earnings statement that it does not believe these legal issues will have a “material adverse effect.”
