Why fine Google $1 million when you can impose a $20.5 billion fine?
A Russian court fines Google more than the entire world’s GDP (an additional $1 million per day) after the tech giant allegedly banned a pro-Moscow propaganda channel on YouTube I ordered.
This absurd amount, equal to 20 followed by 33 zeros, far exceeds the $2 trillion that Google is worth, and the outrageous ransom demand demanded by the fictional Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movie series. Similar to
A Russian court has ordered Google to pay $2.05 billion for interfering with channels that spread propaganda supporting President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. POOL/AFP via Getty Images The fine is more than the world’s GDP and resembles Dr. Evil’s unrealistic ransom demands for the Austin Powers series. Getty Images
The fine, first reported by Russian state news agency RBC, was imposed on the company four years ago for banning the pro-Kremlin YouTube channels Tsargrad and RIA FAN. This was imposed as a result of the first $1 million fine.
A Russian court warned at the time that the amount would double every day until the balance was paid and the YouTube account was restored.
Google shut down its Russian division in 2022 in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and its local subsidiary declared bankruptcy.
The company also shut down Google AdSense in Russia over the summer, meaning local content creators “will no longer receive monetization.”
Google and its YouTube service remain accessible to Russians, and the legal battle took a turn in August when Moscow seized more than $100 million from Google’s bankrupt corporation to help finance the war in Ukraine, The Telegraph reported. Reported.
According to court documents, Russia claimed the funds went to channels blocked by Google, including Tsargrad, owned by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev.
Google, one of the world’s richest companies, has a network worth just $2 trillion. zumapress.com
“Tsargrad said it would receive 1 billion rubles from the seizure and use it to support Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Google said in one of its court filings.
Google is also fighting efforts by Russian broadcasters to enforce fines in other countries, including Turkey, South Africa and Serbia.
The company appeared unfazed by Russia’s demands in its latest financial report released Tuesday night.
“We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse impact,” the statement said.
The news didn’t seem to affect Google’s parent company Alphabet, whose stock was up more than 5% as of Wednesday morning.
