Russia fines Google $20.5 trillion – more than the entire world's GDP

Why fine Google $1 million when you can fine Google $20.5 decillion?

A Russian court has ordered Google to pay a fine worth more than the world's GDP – plus an additional penalty of $1 million a day – after the tech giant allegedly blocked pro-Moscow propaganda channels on YouTube.

The absurd amount would be written as 20 followed by 33 zeros, far dwarfing Google's own $2 trillion worth – and with the fictional Dr. Evil in the “Austin Powers” ​​film series is comparable.

The penalty, first reported by Russian state news agency RBC, was imposed on Tuesday after the company was initially fined $1 million four years ago for banning pro-Kremlin YouTube channels Tsargrad and RIA FAN had.

Russian courts had warned at the time that the amount would double every day until the balance was paid and the YouTube accounts were restored.

Google closed its Russian subsidiary in 2022 following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and its local subsidiary filed for bankruptcy.

The company also shut down Google AdSense in Russia over the summer, meaning local content creators “can no longer receive monetization.”

Google and its YouTube services remain accessible to Russians, with the legal battle taking a turn in August when Moscow seized more than $100 million from Google's bankrupt company to fund the war in Ukraine, the Telegraph reports.

Russia said the money was funneled to channels blocked by Google, including Tsargrad, owned by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, according to court documents.

“Tsargrad received one billion rubles from the seizure, which it said it would use to support Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Google said in one of the court filings.

Google is resisting efforts by Russian broadcasters to enforce the fines in other countries, including Turkey, South Africa and Serbia.

The company appeared unfazed by Russia's demands in its latest earnings reports released Tuesday evening.

“We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse impact,” it said.

The news also appeared to have had no impact on Google's parent company Alphabet, whose shares rose more than 5% on Wednesday morning.