A Russian court has slapped Google with an astronomical $20.5 decillion fine — an amount vastly exceeding the entire world’s GDP — after the tech giant allegedly blocked pro-Russia propaganda channels on YouTube.
Alongside this record-breaking figure, Google faces an additional $1 million daily penalty until the banned channels are reinstated.
The penalty, a staggering 20 followed by 33 zeros, is vastly disproportionate, considering Google’s own value of $2 trillion. Many have likened this unprecedented figure to the outlandish ransom demands made by Dr. Evil in the “Austin Powers” movies.
Russia’s RBC state news agency first reported the fine, which stemmed from an initial $1 million penalty issued four years ago when Google restricted access to the pro-Kremlin YouTube channels Tsargrad and RIA FAN.
At the time, Russian courts had warned that the fine would double each day until Google restored access to the channels.
Google, however, shut down its Russian operations in 2022 following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, with its local subsidiary filing for bankruptcy. Earlier this year, the company closed its Google AdSense in Russia, halting monetization for local content creators.
Despite its exit, Google and its YouTube services remain available to Russian users.
However, tensions over the legal dispute escalated in August when Moscow seized over $100 million from Google’s bankrupt Russian entity.
According to reports by The Telegraph, the seized funds were redirected to pro-Russian channels blocked by YouTube, including Tsargrad, which is owned by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev.
Court documents show Tsargrad received a substantial 1 billion rubles from the seizure, which it pledged to support Russia’s war efforts.
Russia’s legal and financial offensives against Google have not stopped there.
The Kremlin has attempted to extend its influence by pushing broadcasters to enforce the fines in other jurisdictions, including Turkey, South Africa, and Serbia. However, Google remains unyielding, actively contesting these attempts in international courts.
In its latest earnings report released Tuesday, Google appeared undeterred by Russia’s demands, noting, “We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect.”
This resilient stance has done little to unsettle investors; in fact, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, saw its stock rise over 5% as of Wednesday morning.
While the immense fine continues to make headlines, industry analysts suggest that such penalties may be more about Russian political signaling than actual financial leverage.
With Google effectively out of the Russian market, Moscow’s influence over the company is limited, and the decillion-dollar penalty, though attention-grabbing, is unlikely to ever be paid.
Instead, the move sends a clear message from Russia about its stance on foreign tech companies and their control over media narratives, especially amid geopolitical tensions heightened by the war in Ukraine.