Google was fined a staggering amount of $20 trillion by a Russian court.

Several state television channels have recently been caught up in a legal battle with Google, resulting in a massive fine being imposed on the tech giant. The court has ordered Google to pay a staggering amount of $20decillion, which is more money than currently exists on earth. This fine is expected to continue growing, causing concern for Google's financial stability.

The case began when Google banned the ultra-nationalist Tsargrad channel from YouTube in 2020. This was in response to US sanctions against the channel's owner. However, as tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated in 2022, more channels were added to the banned list, including Sputnik, NTV, Russia 24, and eventually all Russian state channels.

The owners of the Tsargrad channel had been under US sanctions since 2014, and in 2021, a Russian court ordered Google to restore access to the blocked accounts. Failure to comply would result in a progressive fine. Despite this, more channels were blocked in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As a result, Google's Russian legal entity filed for bankruptcy and was declared bankrupt in November 2023 after reportedly paying 1billion rubles to Tsargrad.

The situation only escalated when Zvezda, a television channel owned by Putin's Ministry of Defense, joined 16 other channels in suing Google. The court ruled in their favor, and the fine began to increase exponentially. The court imposed a daily fine of 100,000 rubles, which doubled every week. Due to compound interest, the fine has now reached an astronomical amount that surpasses the global GDP.

Despite this, it is highly unlikely that Google will actually pay the fine. In its most recent earnings statement, Google's parent company, Alphabet, stated that they do not believe the ongoing legal matters will have a significant impact on their finances. They also mentioned ongoing disputes involving the termination of accounts, including those of sanctioned parties.

The situation has caused concern for Google's financial stability, but the company remains relaxed about the entire situation. With a quarterly revenue of $88billion, it seems unlikely that they will attempt to pay the fine. The Agency has reached out to Google for comment, but it is unclear how they will proceed.

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