Google hit with astronomical fine by Russian court over media restrictions
Published: 13:45 30 Oct 2024 EDT
A Russian court has fined Google 2 undecillion rubles, an astronomical amount equivalent to about US$20 decillion, in a dispute over restricted Russian media channels on YouTube.
The fine, which is nearly 200 trillion times the global money supply, was calculated based on the removal of 17 Russian TV channels following US sanctions imposed in 2020 and expanded after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The penalty will increase daily, starting at 100,000 rubles per day, doubling weekly, with no upper limit.
According to reports, Google’s Russian subsidiary has been bankrupt since 2022, and while the company has paid billions of rubles in previous fines, its assets in Russia have been depleted, making any significant recovery unlikely.
Google deactivated AdSense accounts in Russia in August, cutting off its core revenue stream in the country, though services like YouTube and Google Search remain available, albeit with performance issues.
Russia has also hindered foreign companies' operations with laws like a ban on online advertising from "foreign agents," further complicating Google’s presence in the country.
Local competitors such as Yandex are attempting to fill the void left by Google's diminishing influence.
