Russia fines Google US$20 decillion – more than the entire world’s GDP

A Kremlin spokesman admits he 'cannot even pronounce this number', and says the penalty for blocking pro-Putin YouTube accounts is symbolic

Russia has fined Google US$20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, many times more than the world's entire GDP, for blocking its YouTube accounts.

That figure - a 20 followed by 33 zeros - is US$20 decillion, to the uninitiated who didn't know such a word existed. Even the Kremlin acknowledged on Thursday that it was more a symbolic gesture than anything else.

Russia's beef is that Google is blocking the YouTube accounts of 17 Russian television channels and other media outlets that support President Vladimir Putin's regime and his invasion of Ukraine, according to Russian media outlet RBC.

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On Monday, the issue reached a fever pitch with a hearing in a Moscow court over this "case in which there are many, many zeros", as a judge described it, RBC reported.

In Russian roubles, the fine is two undecillion, which clocks in at 37 digits.

"Although it is a concretely formulated sum, I cannot even pronounce this number," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a daily briefing, according to The Moscow Times. "Rather it is filled with symbolism."

Google's market value is a "mere" US$2 trillion, while the world's GDP as valued by the International Monetary Fund is US$110 trillion.

Russia has been fining Google in dribs and drabs since 2020, according to BBC News, but Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine kicked it into high gear.

It began with daily 100,000-rouble penalties in 2020 after Google lost lawsuits filed by pro-government media outlets Tsargrad and RIA FAN for blocking their YouTube channels. Google has not paid a dime, and the fines have doubled weekly since then, leading up to Monday's astronomical total.

Google's subsidiary in Russia filed for bankruptcy in 2022, the same year Google stopped advertising there in compliance with the West's sanctions over the Ukraine invasion, The Moscow Times noted.

Google has not officially commented on the latest figure, though it alluded to the matter in its third-quarter earnings release.

"We have ongoing legal matters relating to Russia," parent company Alphabet said, according to NBC News.

"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."

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