Enimere \u00c0k\u00e0nb\u00ed
\nRussia is seeking an unfathomable sum of money from one of the world\u2019s biggest tech companies.<\/p>\n
Google reportedly owes the Kremlin more than 2 undecillion rubles \u2014 a 2 followed by 36 zeroes \u2014 after refusing to pay fines that are now accruing for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube.<\/p>\n
The virtually unpronounceable penalty amounts to $20 decillion \u2014 or around $20 billion trillion trillion. That dwarfs the size of the global economy.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Russian state media TASS reported this week that a Russian court had earlier ordered Google to restore the YouTube channels \u2014 several of which have been blocked since 2022 \u2014 or else face mounting charges, with penalties doubling every week.<\/p>\n
Asked about the lawsuit during a call with reporters Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted that he \u201ccan\u2019t even pronounce this figure right\u201d but said that the eye-watering sum was \u201cfilled with symbolism.\u201d Google \u201cshould not be restricting the actions of our broadcasters on its platform,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
CNN has contacted Google for comment. In quarterly earnings published this week, the company referred to \u201congoing legal matters\u201d relating to its business in Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cCivil judgments that include compounding penalties have been imposed upon us in connection with disputes regarding the termination of accounts, including those of sanctioned parties,\u201d Google said. \u201cWe do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect (on earnings).\u201d<\/p>\n
Following Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Google curtailed operations in the country but stopped short of pulling out altogether, in contrast with several other American tech companies. Many of its services, including Search and YouTube, continue to be available in the country.<\/p>\n
Months after the invasion, Google\u2019s Russia subsidiary filed for bankruptcy and paused most of its commercial operations after the government seized control of its bank accounts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Enimere \u00c0k\u00e0nb\u00ed Russia is seeking an unfathomable sum of money from one of the world\u2019s biggest tech companies. Google reportedly owes the Kremlin more than 2 undecillion rubles \u2014 a 2 followed by 36 zeroes \u2014 after refusing to pay fines that are now accruing for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube. The virtually unpronounceable penalty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[82,83],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-global-scene","tag-google","tag-russia"],"yoast_head":"\n