A Russian court hit Google with a fine larger than the world's GDP, stretching credulity

• A Russian tribunal fined Google for not restoring YouTube accounts linked to Russian TV channels.
• The good is astir $20.6 decillion — a fig galore orders of magnitude beyond nan world's GDP.
• Google's Russian entity revenge for bankruptcy successful 2022 successful a wider exodus from Russia, leaving fewer ways to extract payment.

A ineligible conflict betwixt Google and Russia complete suspended YouTube accounts has led to a good truthful ample that it exceeds each nan money connected Earth.

Ivan Morozov, a Moscow-based lawyer, told nan state-run TASS newswire that a Russian tribunal ordered nan tech elephantine to reconstruct Russian media accounts connected YouTube, a Google-owned company.

He said that Google's nonaccomplishment to do truthful has resulted successful a good that had been regularly doubling for years.

There is nary headdress connected nan total, nan lawyer said.

Morozov, who did not instantly respond to a petition for remark from Business Insider, said that nan cumulative magnitude has now reached 2 undecillion rubles — an almost unfathomable figure.

At nan existent speech rate, nan good is balanced to astir $20.6 decillion.

A decillion is simply a fig followed by 33 zeros — which successful this lawsuit puts nan good astatine $20,604,600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

To put this into perspective, nan world's GDP is balanced to astir $105 trillion, a minuscule fraction of nan fine.

It's improbable that Google could aliases would salary specified an amount, which RBK, a Russian business-media outlet, says relates to ineligible claims brought by much than a twelve Russian TV channels astir nan suspension of YouTube accounts.

According to tribunal filings reviewed by Bloomberg successful 2021, Google suspended nan accounts to comply pinch US sanctions.

Nigel Gould-Davies, elder chap for Russia and Eurasia astatine nan International Institute for Strategic Studies, told BI successful a connection that nan size of nan good is "clearly insane" and "absurd."

"So moreover if Google gave Russia everything nan world produced this year, each time since nan beingness began, it would only person paid astir 3% of this fine," Gould-Davies wrote connected X.

He likened it to "putting a dormant personification connected trial" — apt since Google has nary progressive beingness successful Russia, and small by measurement of assets to claim.

In 2022, Google's Russian ineligible arm, Google LLC, revenge for bankruptcy, and authorities seized its slope accounts, though free services proceed to run successful nan country.

Google's genitor company, Alphabet, doesn't look to deliberation it will person a worldly impact.

It has regularly referred to nan cases successful its quarterly net reports. Business Insider recovered nan first mention successful Q1 of 2022.

In its Q3 2024 net report, released Tuesday, Alphabet wrote of "ongoing ineligible matters" relating to Russia.

It referred to civilian judgments that see "compounding penalties" levied "in relationship pinch disputes regarding nan termination of accounts," including those of group connected sanctions lists.

"We do not judge these ongoing ineligible matters will person a worldly adverse effect," nan study said — an appraisal successful statement pinch anterior reports.

Google has not responded to a petition for remark from BI.