Everything We Know About Putin Seizing Millions From Google
Vladimir Putin again made headlines in August 2024 when it was reported that he had seized a hefty sum of money from Google. Here's everything we know about the Russian leader's battle with the global tech giant.
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00:00Vladimir Putin again made headlines in August 2024 when it was reported that he had seized
00:06a hefty sum of money from Google.
00:08Here's everything we know about the Russian leader's battle with the global tech giant.
00:13Google has long had a difficult relationship with the theory and practice of dictatorship.
00:17They've been credibly accused of being such within the tech world.
00:21Its sheer size and its business practices make it hard to argue otherwise.
00:25The company was branded an illegal monopoly in August 2024 in a watershed case before
00:30a U.S. federal court.
00:32However, Google has also struggled to navigate its relationship with dictatorial governments.
00:38It received — and honored — thousands of requests for censorship by regimes from
00:42around the world, and its compliance with dictates by the Chinese government in the
00:46early 2000s brought it condemnation by international rights groups.
00:50In the 2020s, Google has run into difficulties with the dictatorship in Russia.
00:55When hostilities in the Russo-Ukrainian war resumed in 2022, Russia demanded that Google
01:01censor any ads that it branded as misleading or false about its invasion within its territory
01:06on its subsidiary, YouTube.
01:08In response, Google temporarily suspended all its advertising in Russia.
01:12"...and Putin is paying a big price for his aggression."
01:17Google's response to Russia following the 2022 Ukrainian invasion was complicated by
01:21their 100 employees working in Russia.
01:24According to The New York Times, Vladimir Putin's regime has gone after workers when
01:28their companies don't comply with government requests.
01:31In the immediate aftermath of its clash with Russian censorship demands, Google did not
01:35see its employees prosecuted, but it did see a series of financial hits after it expanded
01:40its response to the Ukraine invasion.
01:43During its temporary advertising freeze, Google opted to ban several high-profile state-sponsored
01:48Russian channels from YouTube, first in Europe and then globally.
01:52It also suspended app purchases and software updates, though basic free services remained.
01:58In retaliation, the Russian government imposed a series of fines, some related to Google's
02:03blocking of their media, some related to pro-Ukrainian content left on Google or YouTube in the country.
02:09They then seized the $100 million from Google's accounts, though the amount wouldn't be reported
02:14for two years in August 2024.
02:17Unlike the fines, no reason was given for the asset seizure at the time.
02:21Such a heavy financial blow was too much for Google Russia to sustain.
02:25It was forced to declare bankruptcy in May 2022.
02:28The motion and the seizure left Google Russia unable to pay its employees.
02:32Most of them were moved out of the country or else left the company while remaining in
02:36Russia before bankruptcy had even been declared, per The Wall Street Journal.
02:40The same court documents that revealed the amount of money Russia seized from Google
02:44in 2022 also provided the grounds given.
02:48The company owed damages to state-sponsored and regime-friendly TV stations.
02:53One of the fines imposed on Google prior to their account seizure was because Google blocked
02:57a channel controlled by Konstantin Malovyev, a notorious oligarch under U.S. sanctions
03:02since 2014 for his rhetoric against Ukraine.
03:06Malovyev's Sargrad TV, an Orthodox Christian channel, was named in the Moscow court order
03:11allowing the account to be seized on top of the $12.5 million fine.
03:17Malovyev wasn't the only media figure to benefit from the money taken from Google.
03:21Several channels received payouts, including RT.
03:24But Sargrad's management vowed to specifically use the money they received from Google for
03:28propaganda purposes.
03:30It was put toward content supportive of Russia's invasion and its ongoing war with Ukraine.
03:36Former employees and creditors of Google had to wait in line behind broadcasters.
03:40According to The Telegraph, Russia maintains that Sargrad is owed still more.
03:45They put Google's penalty at $360 million.
03:49It has followed up its seizure of Russian assets with efforts to get at Google's accounts
03:53in other countries.
03:54In response, Google filed its own lawsuits in August 2024 in British and American courts
03:59against Sargrad, RT, and NFPT in an effort to thwart further seizures.