A Russian court has ruled that Google owes around $20 decillion in fines for blocking the content of Russian media stations. That’s $20 trillion trillion trillion.
For comparison, Google is only worth around $2 trillion. The World Bank estimates global GDP to be around $100 trillion. This means the Russian court ordered Google to pay more money than there is on Earth.
Now, why did the court issue this ridiculous fine, one which Google absolutely will not be paying anytime soon? The drama began when Google restricted the YouTube channels of media outlets Tsargrad and RIA FAN in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian court claimed this was an infringement of free speech and, after winning a lawsuit against the US tech giant, handed down a fine of 100,000 rubles—with a warning that the amount would double every day. Four years later, the fine has reached the laughable amount of $20 decillion.
As Gizmodo’s Todd Feathers pointed out, “At that rate, it will take roughly 219 weeks before Google owes $1 googol (1 followed by 100 zeros).”