A Russian courtroom has fined Google two undecillion roubles – a two adopted by 36 zeroes – for limiting Russian state media channels on YouTube.
In greenback phrases which means the tech big has been advised to pay $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
Regardless of being one of many world’s wealthiest corporations, that’s significantly greater than the $2 trillion Google is price.
In actual fact, it’s far higher than the world’s whole GDP, which is estimated by the Worldwide Financial Fund to be $110 trillion.
The high-quality has reached such a gargantuan degree as a result of – as state information company Tass has highlighted – it’s quickly rising on a regular basis.
In line with Tass, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted he “can not even pronounce this quantity” however urged “Google administration to concentrate.”
The corporate has not commented publicly or responded to a BBC request for an announcement.
Russia media outlet RBC studies the high-quality on Google pertains to the restriction of content material of 17 Russian media channels on YouTube.
Whereas this began in 2020, it escalated after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years later.
That noticed most Western corporations pull out of Russia, with doing enterprise there additionally tightly restricted by sanctions.
Russian media retailers have been additionally banned in Europe – prompting retaliatory measures from Moscow.
In 2022, Google’s native subsidiary was declared bankrupt and the corporate has stopped providing its business providers in Russia, equivalent to promoting.
Nevertheless, its merchandise aren’t utterly banned within the nation.
This improvement is the most recent escalation between Russia and the US tech big.
In Could, 2021, Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor accused Google of limiting YouTube entry to Russian media retailers, together with RT and Sputnik, and supporting “unlawful protest exercise”.
Then, in July, 2022, Russia fined Google 21.1bn rouble (£301m) for failing to limit entry to what it referred to as “prohibited” materials concerning the conflict in Ukraine and different content material.
There’s nearly no press freedom in Russia, with impartial information retailers and freedom of expression severely curtailed.
