The amount of fines imposed by Russian courts on Google for removing channels belonging to Russian organisations and individuals on YouTube has exceeded 20 decillion dollars.
Speaking to the Russian news agency TASS, legal expert Ivan Morozov said that administrative fines were imposed on Google in the country for removing some channels on YouTube.
Pointing out that if the fines in question are not paid within 9 months, the amount doubles every day, Morozov said, ‘The court cannot cancel this fine and since Google does not implement the decision, the fine has to double every day.”
Speaking to the Russian RBK newspaper, an unnamed lawyer who is leading the legal proceedings against Google stated that the amount of compensation that Google must pay to 17 Russian television channels as a result of the court decision exceeds 20 decillion dollars.
In recent years, Google has removed many channels belonging to Russian organisations and individuals, including Russian state channels, from YouTube. The US-based company had initiated a bankruptcy process in 2022 on the grounds that it could not fulfil its financial obligations to its subsidiary in Russia. Experts state that as Google’s fines in Russia have reached an unpayable level, access to the company’s services may be blocked in Russia. According to World Bank data, the size of the world economy in 2023 is approximately 105 trillion dollars, while 20 decillion dollars means quintillions of times this figure.
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