A Russian court on Tuesday slapped Google with a $78 million fine for not complying with previous penalties, the Moscow courts press service said on Telegram.
For years, Russia has ordered foreign tech firms to delete content it deems illegal – issuing small fines with each penalty.
The fine against Google on Tuesday is a significant departure from the usual $39,000 demanded from rule-breaking companies.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Chertanovo District Court in Moscow said Google was issued the fine because it failed to comply with a previous penalty, though it did not specify which penalty.
Google’s YouTube video platform has drawn Russian disapproval for hosting content the country deems illicit.
YouTube used to attract around 50 million daily users in Russia – but that number has dropped to approximately 12 million, according to Google data.
Russia has been accused of tampering with YouTube’s download speeds to prevent Russians from using the platform and viewing illegal content.
Russia has denied this, saying the issues are Google’s – though the Alphabet-owned company has said the glitch is not from their equipment.
It’s not the first time Russia has hit Google with an unusually large fine.
In October, the country fined Google $20 decillion – 20 followed by 33 zeros — more than the world’s entire GDP.
The fine – worth far more than Google’s $2 trillion market value – was more of a symbolic figure, according to the Kremlin.
“Although it is a specific amount, I cannot even say this number, it is rather filled with symbolism,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in October.
At the time, Russian media outlet RBC reported that the fine is tied to YouTube blocking content from at least 17 Russian television channels – a practice that picked up after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
