The Russian courts has imposed a heavy fine on Google and it is worth more than the world’s GDP. This penalty was adopted because Google blocked pro-Kremlin media outlets.
Judges in Moscow are seeking around US$ 20 decillion from the technology giant, many times the estimated US$ 100-trillion size of the global economy. If written out in full, the fine would be 20 followed by 33 zeros.
The penalty, which far exceeds Google’s own US$ 2-trillion market value, comes after the US technology business barred pro-Moscow propaganda channel Tsargrad TV, which is owned by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, from YouTube four years ago.
Google was fined a daily penalty of 100,000 roubles and warned that amount would double every 24 hours if it went unpaid. The technology giant now owes more than 2 undecillion roubles, a 36-digit figure, lawyer Ivan Morozov told the state-owned TASS news agency.
The original fine has been compounded by further penalties after Google blocked a total of 17 Russian TV channels as a result of international sanctions. According to local news outlet RBC, the judge described the legal battle as "a case in which there are many, many zeros".
The technology giant shut down its local Russian division in 2022 following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with its subsidiary declaring bankruptcy. However, many of its services including its search engine and YouTube have remained accessible to Russians.
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