Russia Issues Fine To Google For More Money Than Exists Over Banned YouTube Channels

Here are two things that are not secrets, but play into this story. First, it’s known that Google and Russia have had an acrimonious relationship for some time. Between various threats from the Russian government to ban Google and/or YouTube here and there, typically because the country doesn’t like Google’s decisions over what content to block or allow, and Russia’s more general heartburn over speech it doesn’t like, the two entities tend to butt heads frequently. Second, Putin’s stranglehold on his government, forcing it to operate at levels high and low according to his own personal whims can produce government actions so absurd that they would be funny were it all not so terrifying.

So, it’s a mixture of those two truths that generate absurd activities such as the Russian government issuing a fine on Google for literally more money than even exists in the world.

Google reportedly owes the Kremlin more than 2 undecillion rubles — a 2 followed by 36 zeroes — after refusing to pay fines that are now accruing for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube. The virtually unpronounceable penalty amounts to $20 decillion — or around $20 billion trillion trillion. That dwarfs the size of the global economy.

At $110 trillion, according to International Monetary Fund figures, world gross domestic product looks modest in comparison. Google parent Alphabet, meanwhile, has a market value of around $2 trillion.

There’s a Dr. Evil joke in there somewhere, but I’m not going to bother. The problem with a fine like this is that it’s so absolutely absurd, so over the top, that it is rendered meaningless. To be clear, Google is not under any kind of actual monetary threat here. Google has had a relatively muted presence in Russia after the country’s unilateral invasion of Ukraine. Google’s child-company in Russia filed for bankruptcy long ago, due to the Russian government seizing its money and assets. YouTube and Google search still work in Russia as of today, though this fine appears to be a step towards restricting access to Google sites in Russia in the future.

Even the Kremlin kreatures have acknowledged that this fine has no practical application when it comes to hurting the company.

Asked about the lawsuit during a call with reporters Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted that he “can’t even pronounce this figure right” but said that the eye-watering sum was “filled with symbolism.” Google “should not be restricting the actions of our broadcasters on its platform,” he added.

CNN has contacted Google for comment. In quarterly earnings published this week, the company referred to “ongoing legal matters” relating to its business in Russia.

“Civil judgments that include compounding penalties have been imposed upon us in connection with disputes regarding the termination of accounts, including those of sanctioned parties,” Google said. “We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect (on earnings).”

Which is how, in the end, this fine serves to do nothing beyond being a public demonstration as to just how completely corrupt the Russian government has become. The fine is meaningless, save as a justification to further restrict the internet access of Russian citizens.