The American technology giant Google has shuttered its Russian operations, yet a court there continues to impose a fine larger than all the world’s wealth combined—a figure that grows larger each day.
The fine, levied after certain channels were blocked on YouTube, the Google-owned platform, has now reached more than 2 undecillion roubles, according to Russian business newspaper RBC this week. That amounts to approximately £16 decillion (RM94 decillion)—a two followed by 34 zeros.
The sum dwarfs the combined global net wealth of £382 trillion (RM2,244 trillion), as reported by Boston Consulting Group, and last year’s worldwide gross domestic product of roughly £84 trillion (RM494 trillion), according to the World Bank.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company—one of the globe’s five most valuable organisations—is valued at approximately £1.6 trillion (RM9.4 trillion). The fine represents about 10 billion trillion times the company’s worth.
In an interesting twist of language, the penalty could soon reach a googol, a 1 followed by 100 zeros, the mathematical term that inspired the search engine’s name.
“I actually can’t even pronounce that number,” Dmitry Peskov, press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters Thursday. “Rather, this sum is filled with symbolism. These demands demonstrate the essence of our channels’ grievances against Google.”
The astronomical sum resulted from a fine that increases with time in noncompliance, without any upper limit. The order came after 17 blocked channels joined a lawsuit against Google’s American, Irish and Russia-based companies, according to RBC. The legal action predates Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, originating in 2020 when YouTube blocked a channel to comply with US sanctions.
However, the invasion intensified tensions between Russian authorities and Western social media platforms. Google’s Russian subsidiary declared bankruptcy in 2022 following the seizure of its assets in response to fines.
YouTube and other platforms restricted access to certain Russian media for viewers outside the country following the Ukraine war. The platform banned more than 3,000 channels this year connected to pro-invasion voices, including Russian celebrities, according to Google’s Threat Analysis Group.
Russia’s media regulator and censor, Roskomnadzor, has repeatedly demanded Google unblock specific YouTube accounts. The organisation has also penalised Google for failing to remove YouTube content, such as videos uploaded by Ukrainian groups.
Despite other Western social media platforms being blocked after the invasion of Ukraine, YouTube remained accessible in Russia. However, in recent months, users report the platform has significantly slowed or stopped loading videos completely, which was likely related to state censorship, although Russia attributed the issue to Google.
