The total claims of 17 Russian TV channels against Google reached 1.81 duodecillion rubles, two sources familiar with the case told RBC. A duodecillion is a unit with 39 zeros. According to one of the interlocutors, the specified amount is the debt accumulated by Google by January 15 for failing to comply with the requirement to restore the accounts of Russian media on YouTube. By the end of October 2024, the debt amount was 2 undecillion rubles (a unit with 36 zeros).
The proceedings began back in 2020 when "Tsargrad" and RIA FAN filed lawsuits against the American Google LLC, Irish Google Ireland, and the Russian LLC "Google" demanding the restoration of blocked YouTube accounts of the channels. In 2021, a Russian court ordered Google to restore access. The corporation did not comply with this decision within the allotted nine months, after which a fine of 100 thousand rubles began to accrue for each day of non-compliance. The fine amount doubles every week until the decision is implemented, without limiting the total fine amount.
The affected parties in the case against Google include the channels "Zvezda", "Channel One", VGTRK, "Parliamentary Television", "Moscow Media", "TV Center", NTV, "GPM Entertainment Television", "Public Television of Russia", "Channel 360", "TRK Petersburg", "Orthodox Television Foundation", "National Sports Channel", "Technological Company Center", as well as individual entrepreneur Simonyan M.S., representing the YouTube channel of propagandist Margarita Simonyan.
Google, in turn, appealed to the English court demanding to prohibit Russian TV companies from making claims outside the USA and Britain. On January 22, the English court supported this demand.
In June 2022, the Russian legal entity Google — LLC "Google" — filed for bankruptcy. A company representative explained that by that time, debts exceeded 19 billion rubles, while assets were only 3.5 billion rubles. In November 2023, the court declared "Google" bankrupt.