Russia fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Russia is demanding an astronomical amount of money from a major tech company, Google, reportedly exceeding 2 undecillion rubles – a 2 followed by 36 zeroes. This penalty arises from Google’s failure to pay fines for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube, with the total amount symbolically valued at $20 decillion. This figure vastly surpasses the entire global economy, which is $110 trillion in size.

A Russian court previously mandated Google to restore the blocked YouTube channels since 2022, or face penalties doubling each week. In response to an inquiry, a spokesperson for the Kremlin acknowledged the unbelievable scale of the fine, emphasizing its symbolic nature and stating that Google should not limit Russian broadcasters' actions on its platform.

Google confirmed "ongoing legal matters" related to its Russian business operations in its quarterly earnings report but expressed confidence that these issues wouldn't materially affect their financial outcomes. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Google scaled back its operations in the country, but services like Search and YouTube remain active. Following the seizure of its bank accounts by the Russian government, Google's Russian division declared bankruptcy and halted most commercial activities.