Russia fines Google more money than there is in entire world

A court in Russia has imposed an astonishing fine on Google, a major technology company based in the United States. The fine amounts to two undecillion roubles, which is a number that has 36 zeros. When converted to US dollars, this fine is approximately 20 trillion dollars. This amount is significantly higher than Google's total worth, which is around 2 trillion dollars. In fact, it exceeds the total gross domestic product (GDP) of the entire world, which is estimated to be about 110 trillion dollars according to the International Monetary Fund. The reason for this massive fine is that Google has been accused of restricting access to 17 Russian state media channels on its platform, YouTube. This issue began in 2020 but escalated dramatically after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Following the invasion, many Western companies decided to withdraw their operations from Russia, and Russian media outlets faced bans in Europe. In 2022, Google’s local subsidiary in Russia was declared bankrupt, and the company ceased offering its commercial services in the country, including advertising. However, Google’s products are still available for use in Russia. The fine has reached such an enormous level because it doubles every day that it remains unpaid. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, admitted that he could not even pronounce the number of the fine but urged Google to take notice of the situation. As of now, Google has not publicly commented on the fine or responded to requests for a statement from the media. This situation marks another chapter in the ongoing tensions between Russia and the American tech giant. In May 2021, Russia’s media regulator fined Google for failing to restrict access to certain media channels, including RT and Sputnik, which were accused of supporting illegal protest activities. Then, in July 2022, Google faced another fine of approximately 301 million dollars for not limiting access to what the Russian government deemed 'prohibited' material related to the war in Ukraine and other sensitive content. In Russia, press freedom is virtually non-existent, with independent news outlets facing severe restrictions and censorship.