Russia Fines Google an Impossible Amount for Blocking State Media on YouTube

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Key Takeaways

  • A Russian court has fined Google $20 decillion — a 20 with 33 zeros — for restricting Russian state media channels on YouTube.
  • The fine of $1,025 per day doubles every week it remains unpaid.
  • Google isn’t expected to pay this; instead, it’s a symbolic objection to YouTube blocking Russian outlets.

Google’s fine of two undecillion roubles – around $20 decillion – is the result of a four-year court case that began in 2020 when YouTube banned Tsargrad, Russia’s ultra-nationalist channel, due to US sanctions.

The court doesn’t expect Google to pay this fine, and Google certainly won’t. However, if the tech giant were to pay it off, it could take 56.65 septillion years, according to The Times.

The fine is even greater than the world’s total GDP, estimated at $110 trillion, and higher than Google’s $2 trillion worth.

Spokesman for the Kremlin, Dimitry Peskov, admitted he “could not even pronounce the number” but encouraged Google to pay attention.

Google has not yet made any public comment or statement on the matter.

YouTube Restricts Russian State Media

According to Russian media outlet RBC, the fine is for YouTube’s restriction of content relating to 17 Russian media channels, commencing in 2020 and escalating in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

At the time, many Western companies pulled out of Russia, with Russian media outlets like RT banned in Europe.

Russia’s Media Watchdog Has Fined Google Before

Russia retaliated in 2021, with accusations that Google was supporting illegal protests and restricting YouTube access to Russian media outlets. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media watchdog, also gave Google 24 hours to remove what it called “unlawful content” or face a fine of up to 4 million roubles (~$41,000), according to the BBC.

In 2022, Google was fined 21.1 billion roubles (~$389 million) by Roskomndazor for failure to restrict access to material it deemed “prohibited” relating to the war in Ukraine.

Right now YouTube is still available in Russia, but that availability is sporadic as freedom of expression is limited and the press strictly monitored.

Roman Yankovskiy, an expert at the Russian HSE Institute of Education, thinks it’s likely that Google will ban Russian companies from advertising on YouTube and its other services in future, which he says could lead to “more and more difficulties using the company’s services,” for Russian individuals and businesses.