Russia says $20 decillion fine against Google is ‘symbolic’

The Kremlin has said the huge fines Russia imposed on Google were largely symbolic and aimed at pushing the US tech company to lift restrictions on Russian YouTube channels.

The total sum of legal claims against Google in Russia has reached two billion rubles ($20 decillion), a figure higher than all the money in the world combined, according to Russian news outlet RBK.

“I can’t even pronounce this number, but it is probably steeped in symbolism,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.

“Google shouldn’t restrict the actions of our broadcasters, but it does. This should be a reason for Google management to pay attention to this and correct the situation,” he added.

Since launching its Ukraine offensive in February 2022, Russia has imposed huge fines on social media companies accused of hosting Kremlin-critical or pro-Ukrainian content.

YouTube is still available in Russia, but authorities have repeatedly threatened to take it offline due to the ban on state-owned Russian content.

Russian courts have repeatedly fined YouTube’s owner Google in an attempt to force the tech company to comply, with legal costs multiplying every day if it fails to implement Moscow’s demands.