Russia seeks to impose a fine of two undecillion roubles ($20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) on Google due to blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube, CNN reported on Thursday.
The fine is a number that is larger than the global economy.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has a market value of approximately $2 trillion, CNN noted.
Russian state media TASS reported that a Russian court ordered Google to restore YouTube channels, many that were previously blocked in 2022, or face penalties that doubled every week.
CNN reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the lawsuit and admitted that he “can’t even pronounce this figure right,” but the fine was “filled with symbolism.”
Google, in a statement cited by CNN, wrote, “Civil judgments that include compounding penalties have been imposed on 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 (on earnings).”
Google’s operations in Russia limited since 2022
Google did not fully pull out of Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but did limit some operations, and CNN said that services such as Search and YouTube are still available.
Russia has previously attempted to impose fines on Google. A Russian court fined Google 4 million roubles ($44, 582) for its failure to delete what the court called fake information about the course of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported in November 2023.
In June 2023, a Russian court fined Google 4 billion roubles ($47 million) for failing to pay an earlier fine over alleged abuse of its dominant position in the video hosting market.
Reuters contributed to this report.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
