Why Russia fined Google an amount of money that doesn't exist

On Tuesday, Russian outlet RBC reported that an ongoing Russian court case has resulted in a patently absurd fine against Google. In the culmination of a series of compounding fees dating back to 2020, Google now owes several Russian media entities the tidy sum of 2 undecillion rubles, or roughly $20.6 decillion (2.06 × 10^36), a figure that far exceeds the estimated total value of all currency, property, and debt on Earth combined. It's abundantly clear Google won't be paying these fines, but what in the world is going on here?

Fines stem from YouTube bans on Russian media channels

Google's Russian legal troubles began in July 2020, when Google suspended the YouTube account of the Russian Tsargrad TV, as well as its former chief editor Aleksandr Dugin, described by Radio Free Europe as a "pro-Kremlin analyst." Google told RFE at the time that the channels were suspended for violations of international sanctions and trade regulations.

Tsargrad filed suit in the Moscow Arbitration Court, seeking to force Google to reinstate the suspended YouTube channels. The following spring, the court ruled in favor of Tsargrad, threatening Google with fines if it failed to restore Tsargrad and Dugin's channels.

It is rather filled with symbolism.

Google blocked several more Russian media YouTube channels following the country's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) asserted at the time that Google was abusing its dominance in online video distribution and fined Google 2 billion rubles and then, citing non-payment, an additional 2 billion rubles. Google's Russian subsidiary filed for bankruptcy in June 2022; the subsidiary was declared bankrupt in late 2023.

But as RBC reports, Russian fines against Google continue to grow. The FAS's 2022 ruling against Google stipulates that, starting 90 days after the ruling (beginning in the spring of 2022), the company will be fined an additional 100,000 rubles per day, and that the total amount will double each week with no ceiling. Russian authorities aren't under any illusion Google will or even could actually pay up; a Kremlin spokesperson told NBC News that the latest figure is "rather filled with symbolism."

Will Google ever pay its tab?

Google's $2 trillion market valuation comes nowhere near the amount of money Russian courts are seeking. In fact, by the broadest estimates, the total value of all currency, property, and debt on Earth totals under $700 trillion — an unfathomably large figure, but still only the tiniest fraction of the roughly $20.6 decillion Google has been fined.

These fines can't and won't ever be paid, a fact that both Russian authorities and Google are well aware of. Google acknowledged the ongoing case in its second quarter financial report (PDF) earlier this year; in what was essentially an aside, the report reads that "We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect."

This summer, it was reported that Russia had purposefully limited access to YouTube within the country in an ongoing effort to crack down on independent media. Russian authorities have publicly denied doing so, blaming reduced bandwidth and loss of access on Google's infrastructure — an assertion YouTube has denied.

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