A Russian court, in a first-of-its-kind ruling, has ordered Google to pay an astronomical $2.5 decillion-33 zeros. This is the highest ever fine against Google’s parent company Alphabet and was issued after it refused to reinstate some pro-Kremlin YouTube channels that it had blocked, owing to compliance with U.S. sanctions. The record fine reflects increasing tension between the largest technology companies and the Russian government over content control and geopolitical sanctions.
This fine finds its origin in events in 2020 when Google began blocking a few Russian media accounts, which included Tsargrad and RIA FAN on YouTube. Google defended the blocked account on grounds of U.S. sanctions against Russian state-aligned views. The media companies filed a suit against Google on grounds that it had violated international sanctions that conflicted with Russia’s policies in regard to media. The first court ruling ordered Google to lift restrictions and imposed a fine otherwise, but from the modest 100,000 ruble-per-day fine, compounded weekly, in several years it turned into a fantastic decillion figure.
It was in 2022, when relations with Russia further collapsed following the invasion of Ukraine. In turn, Google’s actions against other Russian state-run news organizations on YouTube have been expanded amid increased sanctions and international condemnation, bringing additional anger and then judicial outrage from the Russian government.
All this happened amid a toughened stance by Google over its efforts to delist Kremlin-backed channels that are part of the larger U.S. and EU compliance on sanctions against Russia. But Russian courts doubled down on penalties that enforce a daily doubling rule, eventually adding into an unprecedented total of $2.5 decillion. Despite this very serious financial sanction, Google insists that fines cannot seriously affect its global activities, and the company insists that the fines for sanctions will not seriously have a material effect on Alphabet’s overall financial condition. Yet Google’s Russian subsidiary received such heavy financial blows that it filed for bankruptcy in 2022. Most of the local bank accounts were frozen by the Russian government, which also imposed other restrictive measures. Accordingly, Google reduced its ground presence and workforce in Russia while still maintaining free services like YouTube and Google Search for Russian users.
There could even be a protracted, international, legal battle, as the Russian authorities have indicated a desire to seize Google’s assets even outside of Russian borders.
The fines and asset seizures “reflect Russia’s determination to challenge Western tech firms in any jurisdiction willing to cooperate,” said Ivan Morozov, a legal analyst familiar with the case. However, the enormity of the fine-far exceeding Russia’s own GDP and any practical collectability-raises questions of feasibility in its enforcement, especially as Google has largely pulled its physical assets out of the region. The decillion-level fine has gathered much commentary in the form of opinion pieces from media houses and financial analysts alike.
