Russian TV companies demand 2 undecillion rubles from Google
Illustrative photo (Getty Images)
The sum of 17 Russian TV channels' claims against Google for blocking their YouTube accounts has reached 2 undecillion rubles (1 with 36 zeros). The figure is doubling every week, according to RBC.
Earlier, a Russian court demanded that Google restore access to the YouTube platform for propaganda channels, and until then, the penalty has grown daily.
During a regular court hearing on October 28, the judge mentioned that he was considering “a case with many zeros.”
Among the blocked media are: Zvezda, Channel One, VGTRK (Rossiya 1, Rossiya 24, etc.), Parliamentary Television, Moscow Media, TV Center, NTV, GPM Entertainment Television, Public Television of Russia, 360 TV Channel, TRK Petersburg, Orthodox Television Foundation, National Sports Channel, Technology Company Center, and TV presenter Margarita Simonyan's YouTube channel.
If the court's decision is not enforced within nine months, a fine of 100 thousand rubles is charged for each day of non-compliance. The amount is doubled every week until the decision is fulfilled, with no limit on the total amount.
Another participant in the process said that in September, the total fine amounted to almost 13 decillion rubles (1 with 33 zeros).
Russian authorities have begun slowing down YouTube traffic to restrict access to information for Russian residents.
