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Google Secures UK Injunction Against Russian Legal Judgments
LONDON (Reuters) – In a significant legal victory, Google has obtained an injunction from London’s High Court to halt the enforcement of judgments issued by Russian courts against the tech giant regarding the termination of several Google and YouTube accounts.
Judge Andrew Henshaw confirmed the permanent anti-enforcement injunction, noting that the terms of service for Google and YouTube stipulated that any disputes should be resolved in an English court. This ruling highlights the importance of jurisdiction and the legal frameworks established within the company’s operating guidelines.
In his written decision, Henshaw made a striking observation about the financial stakes involved, noting that an estimated total of the fines faced by Google by Russian authorities was reported to be an astronomical figure—20 trillion times the global gross domestic product (GDP).
The legal troubles for Google began when Tsargrad TV, a Christian Orthodox media outlet owned by sanctioned businessman Konstantin Malofeev, initiated a lawsuit in Russia in 2022. Following this, in 2024, the Russian state-affiliated media outlet RT filed a similar suit against the company.
These media entities, along with another Russian channel that operates Spas TV, secured judgments containing “astreinte penalties,” which are designed to escalate daily until they are paid. Such penalties pose a formidable challenge for any company facing protracted legal battles.
During a hearing held in November, Google’s legal counsel presented an alarming figure: certain penalties levied against its Russian subsidiary had reached an undecillion roubles, a staggering number represented by 36 zeros. This exemplifies the extreme nature of the financial claims being pursued.
Judge Henshaw also noted that these channels attempted to enforce the Russian judgments in several jurisdictions outside of Russia, including Algeria, Egypt, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, and Vietnam, illustrating the global dimensions of this legal conflict.
In response to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Google took decisive actions in March 2022, halting ad services to Russian users and suspending monetization of any content it found to support or condone the conflict. Since then, the company has restricted access to over 1,000 YouTube channels, including those affiliated with state-sponsored news, and removed more than 5.5 million videos. This approach underscores Google’s commitment to addressing the implications of its platform in a politically charged environment.
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