A Russian court has ordered Google to pay a fine of nearly $20 trillion for blocking content from Russian media channels, and that amount could continue to rise.
According to information, the amount reached this level after four years of court proceedings. The process began in 2020 after the ultra-nationalist Russian channel Tsargrad was blocked from YouTube due to US sanctions. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, more channels were blocked, and 17 channels have now sued Google, including Zvezda, which is owned by the Ministry of Defense.
A Moscow court fined Google 100,000 rubles (about $1,025) for each day it restored the channels, doubling each week. According to Russian media, Google's bank accounts were frozen after it left the country in 2022, and a Russian court is taking steps in other countries to seize assets. Google announced that these legal proceedings will not cause serious financial damage to the company.
