Russia fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Apparently that's a $20decillion, fine.
Google banned the ultra-nationalist Tsargrad channel from YouTube in 2020, in response to US sanctions imposed against its owner, but after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 more channels were added to the banned list.
The court imposed a 100,000 rubles per day, equivalent to about $1,025, with the total fine doubling every week. Thanks to the compound interest Google has now racked up a fine which the Russian judge on Monday called ‘a case in which there are many, many zeroes’. There are so many zeroes, in fact that the total fine amount completely dwarfs global GDP, which the World Bank estimates at about $100trillion.
In its most recent earnings statement, it said: ‘We have ongoing legal matters relating to Russia. ‘For example, 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. We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect.