Russian authorities demand astronomical sum from Google

The technology giant Google is facing an unprecedented demand from the Russian government: a fine of an incomprehensible 20 undecillion rubles, which is equivalent to approximately 2.5 decillion dollars. This draconian penalty was imposed after Google removed Russian state and government-controlled YouTube channels following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. To illustrate: Google would have to pay a sum of 2.5 trillion trillion trillion dollars. According to the Russian news agency Tass, Google violated the country's Administrative Code by blocking the channels. If Google does not pay the sum within nine months, the amount threatens to double daily—in theory without a limit. Until settlement, Google remains banned in Russia. As early as Tuesday, RBC reported that a Russian judge was reviewing the claims of 17 YouTube channels against Google, which collectively amount to "many, many zeros." A Google spokesperson was unavailable for comment. In the second quarter report of 2024, Google acknowledged the pressure from Russia and stated that the ongoing legal disputes would likely not have any significant negative impact on the business. Initially, private complaints, such as those from Tsargrad TV and RIA FAN, were the trigger when their channels were blocked due to US sanctions. The conflict escalated to a state affair when RT and Sputnik were also blocked following the Russian invasion. Even if Google wanted to comply with the contentious demand, such a payment would be impossible for the corporation with a market value of 2.24 trillion dollars. Its annual profits amounted to 73.7 billion dollars. Extrapolated, it would take 33.8 quintillion years to pay off the amount—a number that grows exponentially with each unpaid day. This compensation claim also far exceeds the total value of the world economy, which is around 105 trillion dollars. Nigel Gould-Davies, Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, described the sum on X as "absurd" and related it to the global economic output. Almost 5 trillion days have passed since the Big Bang, to illustrate such astronomical dimensions.