DIGIVESTASI - Russia has imposed an astronomical fine on tech giant Google, amounting to US$2 decillion, or US$20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, citing the company’s blocking of pro-Russian propaganda on its YouTube platform. This staggering figure, which contains 34 zeros following the number 2, is described as equivalent to approximately US$20 trillion billion—a sum far exceeding the size of the global economy.

According to CNN, the fine is vastly larger than the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), which is about US$110 trillion, as estimated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Even the market value of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is only around US$2 trillion, making the size of the fine appear highly excessive.

When asked about the immense penalty, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov admitted that he "couldn't even pronounce the number correctly." However, he emphasized that the magnitude of the fine reflects the view that Google should not restrict pro-Russian broadcasts on its platform.

This fine has accumulated over four years, with the amount doubling every week under Russian law. Initially, the fine was set at 100,000 rubles, or approximately US$16,186, after the media outlets Tsargrad and RIA FAN won a lawsuit in 2020 over YouTube’s restrictions on their channels.

The state news site RBC reported on Tuesday (October 29) that Google faced additional fines in 2022 for banning other Russian media outlets that supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, Google restricted the creation of new accounts for users in Russia, disabled AdSense accounts in August, and stopped running ads in Russia in March 2022 as part of global sanctions.

Due to these restrictions, Russian authorities seized Google’s bank accounts, forcing its Russian subsidiary to file for bankruptcy. Nonetheless, Google’s free services, including YouTube and its search engine, continue to operate in the country.

In its latest financial report, Google acknowledged that it faces ongoing legal issues in Russia but expressed confidence that they will not have a significant material impact. "We do not expect that the ongoing legal issues will have a materially adverse effect," Google stated in its report.

Despite the enormous fine, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, saw its stock rise by more than 5 percent in after-market trading on Tuesday (October 29) after surpassing third-quarter revenue expectations.

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