A Russian court has handed Google an astronomical $20 decillion fine—an amount that vastly exceeds the total money supply in the world—after the tech giant blocked accounts belonging to several pro-Kremlin TV channels on YouTube.
The case, which has captured global attention due to the unprecedented figure involved, reflects growing tensions between Google and Russia following international sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict.
The lawsuit was brought forward by 17 Russian broadcasters, including Russia 1 and the platform of Russia Today presenter Margarita Simonyan, a vocal supporter of President Putin. Google’s YouTube removed these accounts under sanctions, prompting Moscow judges to impose a punitive fine described by the judge as “a case in which there are many, many zeros,” according to Russian news outlet RBC.
Initially, the fine was set at 100,000 rubles daily, doubling every 24 hours since 2020. The resulting penalty has now swelled to $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000—far surpassing Google’s total revenue of $88.2 billion and market valuation of $2 trillion, and dwarfing the global economy’s estimated worth of around $100 trillion, according to the World Bank.
Despite the mounting pressure, Google has shown little sign of compliance, noting in its latest earnings report that “these ongoing legal matters” are unlikely to impact its operations materially. Google wound down its Russian division in 2022, declaring bankruptcy for its subsidiary Google LLC in Russia, although it continues to provide services like its search engine and YouTube.
In contrast, other platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, have been outright banned by Russian authorities, although Google’s services remain accessible. YouTube’s removal of pro-Moscow content has particularly irked the Kremlin, especially bans on propaganda platforms like Tsargrad TV, owned by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev.
The colossal sum, which stands as one of the largest penalties in legal history, may be more symbolic than practical given Google’s limited assets in Russia. Yet, as Russia’s legal strategy continues to escalate, the tech giant appears unfazed, its team noting that the situation is unlikely to reach a fine as high as a “googol”—a figure equal to 10 followed by 100 zeros.
