Russian court fines Google more than total global GDP for restricting state media

In a dramatic escalation of tensions between Russia and US tech giant Google, a Russian court has imposed an almost unimaginable fine on the company: two undecillion rubles – a figure represented by a two followed by 36 zeros.

In dollar terms, this amount is a staggering 20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, which far exceeds Google’s estimated value of $2 trillion and even exceeds the total global GDP, which the International Monetary Fund estimates at $110 trillion.

The fine is in response to Google restricting access to 17 Russian state media channels on its YouTube platform. Although these restrictions began in 2020, they intensified following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, prompting most Western companies to leave Russia due to business restrictions and sanctions. The move also led to retaliatory measures from Moscow, including Russia banning many Western platforms and cracking down on Google’s local operations.

Russian state news agency TASS reports that the fine doubles every day it is not paid. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the staggering figure, humorously admitting, “I can’t even pronounce this number,” but calling on Google to “pay attention” to the court’s demands. So far, Google has declined to comment publicly or respond to media requests.

This record-breaking fine underscores the long-standing and contentious relationship between Russia and Google. Back in 2021, Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor accused Google of censoring Russian media outlets, including RT and Sputnik, and allegedly facilitating “illegal protest activities.” The following year, Google was fined 21.1 billion rubles ($301 million) for failing to restrict access to information Russia deemed “forbidden,” including content related to the Ukrainian conflict.

The situation shows the extreme measures Russia is willing to take against foreign technology companies while continuing to tighten control over information within its borders. This latest fine against Google highlights the severe restrictions on press freedom in Russia, where independent news outlets are either banned or severely restricted.

Melissa Enoch

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