October 30, 2024
A case in which there are many, many zeros.
A Russian judge Monday discussing the case against Google, brought by 17 Russian television channels who accuse the company of banning their accounts on YouTube (which Google owns).
What Happened: Google’s legal battle in Russia began in 2020, when YouTube blocked the accounts of certain Russian television channels “in connection with violations of sanctions legislation and trade rules” related to the United States. In 2022, YouTube blocked more Russian accounts following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia responded by fining YouTube, which eventually led to Google shutting down its operations in Russia. Russia and Google have continued to clash over restrictions of certain content on YouTube and Google’s failure to take down content that Russia classifies as illegal. Meanwhile, the fines against the company have doubled every week since the original court case four years ago.
So, what’s Google’s bill up to now? $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. And yes, that’s apparently a real number. Also known as 20 decillion dollars. For context, Google is worth about $2 trillion. And all the money in the world, according to the World Bank, is somewhere around 100 trillion dollars. Which is still 20 zeroes too little to pay Russia’s fine.
What does Google have to say about this? “We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect.”
Read More: Russia ‘fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000’ – more than all the money in the world (Daily Mail)
Image Credit: BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash
by Stephanie Wagner, based in Florida
