A Russian court docket 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 large 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 value.
In truth, it’s far higher than the world’s whole GDP, which is estimated by the Worldwide Financial Fund to be $110 trillion.
The tremendous has reached such a gargantuan stage as a result of – state news agency Tass says – it doubles daily it isn’t paid.
In line with Tass, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted he “can’t even pronounce this quantity” however urged “Google administration to concentrate.”
The corporate has not commented publicly or responded to a BBC request for a press release.
Russia media outlet RBC reports the tremendous 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 business there also tightly restricted by sanctions.
Russian media retailers have been additionally banned in Europe – prompting retaliatory measures from Moscow.
This improvement is the newest escalation between Russia and the US tech large.
In Might, 2021, Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor accused Google of restricting YouTube access to Russian media outlets, 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 in regards to the conflict in Ukraine and different content material.
There’s nearly no press freedom in Russia, with unbiased information retailers and freedom of expression severely curtailed.
