Russia demands Google pay mind-boggling 2 undecillion rubles over YouTube bans

The amount, which might even make googol (the 100-zero number Google is named after) blush, was floated in a court hearing on Oct. 28 as compensation for the so-called "victims" of the blocked accounts, which include prominent Kremlin propagandist Margarita Simonyan, among many others.

Earlier, the court ordered Google to restore Russian media accounts on YouTube and imposed daily fines of 100,000 rubles ($1023) for non-compliance, doubling each week. With no cap on the fines, the sum could reach astronomical heights - though it's safe to say that Google isn't exactly scrambling to write that check.

Meanwhile, Russian authorities are mulling over a more practical solution: blocking YouTube altogether. If so, Russian citizens may soon have no choice but to embrace local video platforms with a special feature: seamless surveillance by the Russian security services.