Internet giant Google has been heavily fined by a Russian court after blocking content from domestic media networks on its video publishing platform YouTube.
The total amount of lawsuits against Google has reached two trillion rubles ($313 million or $313,871,979,999,999,962,932,929,332,510,720) according to Russian media outlet RBK – a figure higher than all the money from world united.
In the United States, an indecillion is one followed by 36 zeros, while in Britain it is one followed by 66 zeros.
This amount is far greater than the net worth of Google itself, which currently stands at $2.1 trillion ($3.2 trillion), and higher than all the money in the world combined.
The Kremlin said Thursday that Russia’s huge fines against Google were largely symbolic and intended to prompt the internet giant to lift restrictions on Russian YouTube channels.
“I can’t even pronounce this figure, but it is rather full of symbolism,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.
“Google shouldn’t be restricting the actions of our broadcasters, but it is. This should be a reason for Google management to pay attention and correct the situation,” he said.
Since launching its Ukraine offensive in February 2022, Russia has imposed huge fines on social media companies accused of hosting content critical of the Kremlin or pro-Ukraine.
YouTube is still available in Russia, but authorities have repeatedly threatened to take it offline due to a ban on state-owned Russian content.
Russian courts have repeatedly imposed fines on YouTube owner Google in an effort to force the tech giant to comply, with legal costs mounting every day it fails to follow through on its demands. .
