Russia sues Google for banned YouTube accounts
Google has accumulated fines worth two undecillion rubles, or 20 decillion USD, from a Russian court on Oct 31. It is being held liable for refusing to restore the accounts of Russian state-run media outlets on YouTube, a company owned by Google. To put it in perspective, 20 decillion consists of 34 zeros, equivalent to 20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000…which is more money than what exists in the world.
Starting from 2020, Google has received daily penalties after the Russian pro-government media outlets Tsargrad TV and RIA FAN won their lawsuits against Google for blocking their YouTube channels. At the time, the court had ordered a daily due of 100,000 rubles, or 1,025 USD, with the amount set to double every week the fine was left unpaid. The ruling declared that Google had to pay the fee within nine months from the date of enforcement.
The conflict escalated in 2022 as a result of the war in the Middle East, when YouTube blocked more Russian state-run media outlets and channels that supported their invasion of Ukraine. Some of the channels included NTV, Russia 24 and Sputnik. This triggered another round of lawsuits from 17 Russian TV channels, such as Channel One and Zvezda broadcaster.
In September of 2024, Google was sued for almost 13 decillion USD, but the amount has drastically increased over the span of two months. As of November 2024, the quantity has grown 7 decillion and is valued more than the two trillion USD the company itself is worth. The fee also surpasses the World Bank’s global Gross Domestic Product of approximately 105 trillion USD.
Though YouTube is still currently accessible for users in Russia, many have claimed that the platform has dramatically slowed or ceased loading in recent months. As of now, neither side has addressed any upcoming trials about the issue. The media is unsure about how the lawsuit will play out, but aware that the possibility of Russia fulfilling the demands is near to, if not, impossible, especially as it continues to grow every day.
