A Russian court has imposed an astronomical fine of $20 decillion an amount that is far greater the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on Google for blocking 17 YouTube channels affiliated with local TV networks.
$20 decillion is gotten if $20 quintillion is multiplied by $1 quadrillion dollars which is an astronomically huge amount.
This penalty exceeds Google’s market value of $2 trillion and surpasses the World Bank’s GDP of just over $100 trillion.
The report stated that the fine will keep increasing until YouTube reinstates the blocked channels
The situation began in 2020 when YouTube banned Tsargrad TV following United States sanctions against its owner.
At that time, the court imposed a daily fine of 100,000 rubles approximately $1,025 which would double each week if unpaid.
Tensions increased after YouTube blocked additional channels in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
17 channels filed lawsuits against Google, leading to the court’s latest ruling, which calculated fines for each case.
“Google was called by a Russian court to administrative liability under Art. 13.41 of the Administrative Offenses Code for removing channels on the YouTube platform.
“The court ordered the company to restore these channels,” Ivan Morozov, a Russian lawyer based in Moscow said.
If Google does not pay the $20 decillion fine within the next nine months, the amount will double every day thereafter.
Google shut down its Russian operations and declared bankruptcy after local authorities confiscated over $100 million in assets.
“We have ongoing legal matters relating to Russia.
“For example, civil judgments that include compounding penalties have been imposed upon us in connection with disputes regarding the termination of accounts, including those of sanctioned parties.
“We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect,” Google said.
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