Countdown: Will Google be able to reduce giant fines in Russian Federation

Google Corporation will be able to reduce through the courts the gigantic fines that await it if it returns to the Russian Federation. As of mid-February 2025, the amount owed on just one lawsuit filed against Google by Russian TV channels has grown to 2.86 duodecillion rubles (a figure with 39 zeros) and continues to grow. All the assets on planet Earth will not be enough to pay it, lawyers say. Copyright specialists explained to Izvestia that, according to the practice of arbitration courts and courts of general jurisdiction, in the framework of a new lawsuit, which the company must initiate on its own, the amount of the fine can be recalculated towards a significant reduction. Also, according to experts, it is possible to conclude an amicable agreement with the plaintiffs.

How much Google was fined

The question of Google's possible return to the Russian market remains open, it is associated with a number of legal and political obstacles. One of them is the huge amount of fines that the corporation has to pay for the lawsuits it lost in Russian courts. However, copyright lawyers believe that the company will be able to reduce these fines through the courts and return to the Russian market.

Since Google left Russia in 2022, the company has accumulated a significant backlog of lawsuits. The largest of these was filed by Russian TV channels (Rossiya 1, Channel One, Zvezda and several others) whose accounts were blocked on YouTube. According to the initial court ruling, the American corporation had to unblock the accounts, and failure to do so was subject to a fine of 100,000 rubles for each day of non-compliance with the decision, with the condition of weekly doubling of the penalty. As a result, as of mid-February 2025, the amount of Google's fine on this lawsuit alone reached 2.86 duodecillion rubles - a figure with 39 zeros.

In addition, Russian courts have fined Google LLC five more times since the beginning of 2024, Roskomnadzor told Izvestia. Four decisions were made last year - the total amount of fines on them amounted to 15.1 million rubles, and one fine (3.8 million rubles) was imposed already this year. The company was fined for failing to remove extremist information, fakes about the Russian Armed Forces, materials that call for mass riots, content related to the use of VPN services and other illegal information from YouTube, Roskomnadzor explained.

Bailiffs on the acts received from the courts, opened in 2022-2024, forcibly collect more than 21.5 billion rubles of outstanding debts on fines.

Despite these circumstances, Google has no insurmountable legal obstacles for its return and full-fledged functioning in Russia, Mikhail Mushailov, managing partner of the law firm Mushailov, Uzdensky, Rybakov and Partners, told Izvestia. If sanctions are lifted and full diplomatic relations between Russia and Western countries are restored, it is quite possible that the insane sum of 2.86 duodecillion rubles will be recalculated under newly discovered circumstances, he believes.

Today there are quite a lot of legal mechanisms that allow recalculating such a fine, added Mikhail Mushailov. Judicial practice provides for the possibility of reducing fines, if they are disproportionate to the actual damage, and the consequences for the defendant are more serious than for the plaintiffs, he explained.

According to the lawyer, in order to recalculate the fines, the American corporation must itself apply to the court with an application due to newly discovered circumstances or force majeure.

Valeria Rytvina, General Director of the Classics of Truth legal agency, believes that foreign platforms are interested in the Russian audience, but they do not take active steps without political motivation.

- No one has ever kicked them out of Russia, they are the ones who are mired in violations of our legislation and have accumulated debts to Russian companies and citizens. It is always possible to come to an agreement with everyone. I think the creditors will agree to reduce penalties from unrealistic to adequate, but actually paid under the settlement agreement," said Valeria Rytvina.

In her opinion, the settlement is possible at the conclusion of a peace agreement between the parties - it is easier to agree to reduce penalties and restore access to accounts than to expect payment of unrealistic fines.

Forward Legal attorney Evgeny Zubkov also believes that the presence of debt, the size of which is many times greater than the total money supply of the planet, is not an obstacle to the return of Google in Russia. Another thing is that it is practically impossible to conduct business in the presence of such a debt, so the parties can conclude an amicable agreement in which the amount of the fine will be reduced to reasonable limits.

"Izvestia" sent a request to Google and the Russian Ministry of Finance to comment on the situation.

When Google will return to Russia

Google as a bankrupt will be subject to appropriate restrictions on its activities in accordance with the Federal Law on Bankruptcy, said Elena Barshay, head of the Intellectual Property practice at Lemchik, Krupsky & Partners.

- If you get creative, the company could continue its business in the Russian Federation using an unaffiliated new legal entity. But it should be taken into account that all intellectual rights are registered on the main organization of Google, so this scenario is unlikely, - said the expert.

Changing the court decision is theoretically possible in a higher court, but this requires strong legal grounds, such as procedural violations, misapplication of substantive law or the discovery of new circumstances essential to the case, she summarized.

The State Duma believes that in order to return, the US corporation must first of all unblock all previously blocked accounts of Russian public figures and media and remove all banned content.

- The company will have to revise its content moderation policy and recommendation algorithms on YouTube, excluding discrimination on political or ideological grounds. "This will require the company to make significant changes to the platform's operation, including the creation of mechanisms for transparent appeals against blocking decisions and monetization disconnections," Duma deputy Anton Nemkin told Izvestia.

He emphasized that the fines imposed on the company are by no means the most important thing. The main thing that will be required from Google in case it decides to return is to comply with Russian legislation, pay attention to users' information security and not violate their rights.