Russia’s fine of Google amounts to 23,809,523 times all of the money that exists on Earth

No, Russia didn’t deed Google pinch a $23 cardinal fined. It fined Google nan balanced of 23,809,523 times all of nan money that exists connected Earth. The Kremlin slapped Google pinch a $2.5 decillion fine, according to The Moscow Times. That’s $2,500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 aliases for nan nerds among us, 2.5 × 1021. Yes, I had to propulsion retired nan technological notation conscionable to wrap my caput astir nan number.

In astir apt nan grossest illustration of an understatement of each time, The Moscow Times says that Google is “unlikely to ever salary nan incredibly precocious fine,” noting that Google genitor institution Alphabet reported gross of just $307 cardinal past year. I conjecture erstwhile we’re dealing pinch phony numbers that person nary correct to exist, 307 cardinal really doesn’t look for illustration much.

The burning mobility — why? State-run media, of course. In consequence to Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine, YouTube blocked respective Russian news accounts, including Channel One, Moscow Media, and Public Television of Russia. A Russian tribunal ordered Google to reconstruct nan accounts and imposed a good of $1,029 — aliases 100,000 rubles — each time that Google kept nan channels down. That number doubled each week that Google kept nan channels down, according to RBC.

Things person intelligibly snowballed since then, pinch exponential maturation showing up successful nan nastiest measurement to create nan monstrosity of a number that Google now owes, according to nan Russian government. That money will ne'er show up, of course, considering it’s astronomically larger than nan $105 trillion aliases truthful that makes up nan gross home merchandise (GDP) of nan full planet, but its good will only proceed to turn complete time. Clearly, Google isn’t willing successful paying it, and it astir apt ne'er plans to.

Google has almost wholly pulled retired of Russia, successful fact, pinch nan Russian subsidiary of nan company declaring bankruptcy much than a twelvemonth ago.

Still, Russian media that primitively sued Google are trying to get nan institution to cough up immoderate benignant of fine. RBC reports that Russian media companies person revenge lawsuits against Google successful Spain, South Africa, Turkey, and Hungary to enforce nan Russian fine, and earlier this year, South Africa really granted a motion to prehend Google’s assets successful nan country. Google has responded pinch lawsuits successful nan U.S. and U.K. successful bid to support these Russian lawsuits confined to, well, Russia.