2.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000 Ruble fine against YouTube

A fine against Google in Russia, which has been doubling every week since spring 2021, has now grown to two sextillion rubles (2×10³⁶). This was reported by The Moscow Times, citing a state-affiliated news site RBC and the state news agency TASS. The fine was imposed because the video platform removed Russian channels, including state accounts such as that of Channel One Russia. The doubling will only be stopped once the accounts have been restored and compensation has been paid to the owners. Otherwise, the sum will be doubled every day for nine months.

From around 1000 US dollars to a fantastic sum

The unrealistically high fine is just one of several that have been imposed on YouTube in recent years, most of which were comparatively small sums. The platform has been convicted for exploiting a monopoly position or for failing to remove illegal content, among other things. In May 2022, the Russian offshoot of YouTube finally filed for bankruptcy. A court in Moscow had previously imposed a fine of 7.2 billion roubles (around 86 million euros at the time) on Google, which was unsuccessfully contested. Google services and YouTube are still available in Russia, but have been significantly slower for weeks.

Just a few weeks ago, the US company Meta also kicked Russian state media out of its own services Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp; it remains to be seen whether a similar penalty will be imposed. YouTube itself has yet to comment on the extremely large sum. Google was originally supposed to pay 100,000 roubles (around 1400 US dollars). According to a lawyer involved in the case, the US video platform can only return to the Russian market once the court decision has been complied with. However, in order to pay the sum incurred to date, it would need the Group's profits from more than 13 quadrillion years.

(mho)