Russia imposed a fine on Google worth an estimated $20 decillion – a 2 followed by 34 zeroes. The unusual penalty targets YouTube, which is controlled by Google’s parent company Alphabet, for its decision to prohibit Russian state-run media outlets in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This amount vastly beyond any plausible financial scale, outpacing the whole world economy several times over.
The penalty was imposed after a Russian court found that Google breached national broadcasting regulations by blocking channels from Russian state-owned media outlets on YouTube. The fine is exacerbated by an extra decision requiring the restoration of these channels, with fines escalating every day if the platform fails to comply within nine months.
The issue traces back to March 2022, when YouTube announced a global ban on several Russian state-operated channels, including RT and Sputnik. The platform justified its decision by pointing to content policies prohibiting material that denies, minimises, or trivialises violent events. YouTube has enforced such policies against channels supporting Russia’s narratives around the Ukraine conflict, removing over 1,000 channels and more than 15,000 videos globally. In Europe, restrictions on Russian state media accounts were imposed before the ban expanded worldwide. This action led to backlash from Russia, which views the move as censorship and suppression of its state-sponsored media.
Since 2020, Google has faced ongoing penalties, starting with a daily fine of 100,000 rubles (approximately $1,028) over blocked Russian channels from Tsargrad and RIA FAN, two prominent Russian state-affiliated media outlets.
17 Russian broadcasters have filed lawsuits against Google, demanding the reinstatement of their channels on the platform. Google’s operations in Russia were significantly curtailed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, but services like YouTube and Google Search remain accessible within Russian borders. Google’s Russia subsidiary filed for bankruptcy after the Russian government seized its bank accounts.
The Kremlin has called the fine a symbolic measure to compel Google to reconsider its stance on Russian broadcasters. The Kremlin has used penalties against foreign tech platforms for hosting content deemed anti-Russian or pro-Ukrainian since the invasion of Ukraine. YouTube remains accessible within Russia, but authorities have threatened to block the platform outright if it continues to restrict Russian media channels.
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Source: NDTV
