Even Google, one of the biggest technology companies in the world, couldn't afford it. The American technology company was sentenced to a monumental fine of 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 rubles, or 2 sextillion, or even 20 billion million billion to try to make it simpler.
A record amount and almost comical as it seems artificial and only intended to mark the occasion. The figure exceeds the size of the global economy. The market capitalization of Alphabet, Google's parent company, is “only” $2,000 billion and global GDP is estimated at a modest $110,000 billion by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Even taking into account that 1 euro is about 105 rubles, so there is not enough money on Earth to pay the fine.
A figure increasing exponentially
The Moscow prosecutor's office accuses the tech giant of not having restored the YouTube channels of 17 Russian media outlets in the summer of 2024. The case began in 2020, when two television channels, RIA FAN and Tsargrad, were blocked by the video hosting site to comply with American sanctions against Russia. Then after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, YouTube blocked around fifteen additional Russian channels, including RT and Sputnik. The Russian government, which constantly cries of “Russophobia”, has for its part considerably strengthened its control over its Internet since the start of the offensive against Kyiv, like Facebook and Instagram which are inaccessible without a VPN.
Asked about the trial at a news conference Thursday, Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskovadmitted he “couldn’t even pronounce that number correctly,” but said the exorbitant sum was “filled with symbolism.” Google “should not restrict the actions of our broadcasters on its platform,” he added.
Obviously, Google will never pay the amount. Especially since it continues to increase exponentially because the judgment provides that the penalty doubles daily as long as it has not been paid. Paying the amount is nevertheless the only way for the American company to be able to access the Russian market again. Little hope, therefore, of seeing the Silicon Valley giant return to this country, unless the two parties manage to find an amicable agreement.
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