What the fuck is wrong with the Austin City Council Redux (Suing Netflix, etc.)

[atomheartbevo 90078]

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/austin-suing-netflix-hulu-disney-for-not-paying-their-share-to-stream/

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The Austin City Council approved Thursday hiring attorneys to represent the city in a lawsuit against streaming services.

The approved resolution says Netflix, Hulu and Disney aren’t paying the required 5% of their gross revenue to use transmission lines and other public property to deliver streaming video programming.

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It goes on to say the companies “use the City’s public rights of way to provide their video services to subscribing customers via broadband internet through wireline facilities located at least partially in the public right of way.

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The city said it has to use outside counsel because its internal law department “is not currently staffed at a level that would allow it to take on the considerable and specialized effort necessary to pursue these claims.”

The law firms the city will work with are McKool Smith, P.C., Ashcroft Sutton Reyes LLC and Korein Tillery, LLC on a contingency fee agreement.

 

 

[Guest]

I'll withhold judgement as details are sparse. Is there a 5% agreement in place with the city? Or is that some state/national thing? 

[Anastasis 23514]

23 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

contingency fee agreement

[Guest Lobo]

Interesting that Ashcroft Sutton doesn't do anything remotely like this as part of their firm's purview.  Sutton was a helluva ball player at UT, super nice guy in real life, and I've used their services in the past for an SEC matter.  So I'm gonna bite my tongue here but this whole thing smacks of another grift by Adler on his way out the door.  

Also, Alison Alter says she's running for Mayor, fwiw on this story.

[JBJ 3694]

There's a bunch of these popping up nationally.  Dallas is suing as well.  Too many pandemic cord-cutters.

[jimmyjazz 46492]

34 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Interesting that Ashcroft Sutton doesn't do anything remotely like this as part of their firm's purview.  Sutton was a helluva ball player at UT, super nice guy in real life, and I've used their services in the past for an SEC matter. 

Their firm needs a proof reader for their website:

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Mr. Sutton attended the University of Texas at Austin on a baseball scholarship where he was a two-year lettermen and the starting left fielder for the 1983 University of Texas National Championship baseball team. 

 

[Guest Lobo]

Well, no.  You see, once you've earned two letters in a varsity sport...you pluralize it.  You are then a 2-year lettermen.  You can't say "Letters, Man"...you would sound high as fuck.

Edited December 10, 2021 by Lobo

[atomheartbevo 90078]

10 minutes ago, JBJ said:

There's a bunch of these popping up nationally.  Dallas is suing as well.  Too many pandemic cord-cutters.

It starts to veer off into the territory that Time Warner/Roadrunner and Comcast and a few others were pushing, that somehow the streaming companies and the end consumers weren't paying their fair share and that bandwidth is a lot more expensive than it actually is.

Netflix, etc. are paying on their end, and we, the end-users, are paying on our end.  And we are paying additional fees/taxes to the city.

It's just that the City of Austin isn't getting their cut of the little 1s and 0s flowing across the wire/cable in the city.

Edited December 10, 2021 by atomheartbevo

[atomheartbevo 90078]

Also, notice that they aren't going after Google/YouTube, because Google has actual physical infrastructure here in Austin on city property that they are paying for.

Makes me wonder if this is Google fucking around.

This lawsuit is so broad that they could sue Surly Horns because Surly is  “using the City’s public rights of way to provide their forum services to customers via broadband internet through wireline facilities located at least partially in the public right of way."

[JBJ 3694]

You'd think at least YoutubeTV would fall into the same category. 

Google Fiber if it exists down there would be already taxed.

[Jerry Callo 8832]

 

[TKthunder2 5025]

So dumb, but at least they aren’t going after PornHub or xvideos…

[Anastasis 23514]

1 hour ago, Lobo said:

Sutton was a helluva ball player at UT, super nice guy in real life, and I've used their services in the past for an SEC matter. 

Animal husbandry or sister fuckery?

Edited December 10, 2021 by Anastasis

[atomheartbevo 90078]

17 minutes ago, JBJ said:

You'd think at least YoutubeTV would fall into the same category. 

Google Fiber if it exists down there would be already taxed.

Google Fiber is in Austin.  Them leaving out Youtube/TV makes me wonder.

[gyroprotagonist 2595]

 

[atomheartbevo 90078]

City's resolution.  It's a state-level thing, but if all Texas cities do it, we can kiss our streaming services goodbye.

https://www.kxan.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2021/12/Streaming-services-resolution.pdf

 

[Guest Lobo]

And what's that 5% revenue collection gonna go to, if the city ever gets it?

YOU GUESSED IT!

Hotels for the Homeless.  

 

Sometimes it honestly does hurt to live in the dumbest fucking city in the dumbest fucking state in a country awash in celebrating its own stupidity.  

HBOmax usually helps take the edge off that, but I can see that's probably coming to a fucking end.  But hey, at least our homeless have wi-fi!

Edited December 10, 2021 by Lobo

[gyroprotagonist 2595]

lol, all they will do is double the sub price for citizens in the cities that have sued (if they should win).  Is the city going to sue the big 3 letter broadcast companies as well since they all have streaming services?   

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Texas law allows for cable and video service providers to deliver services through transmission lines on public property in exchange for remitting 5% of gross revenue to the municipality

does anyone have a link to the actual statute?  Is this some ancient law stemming from a Ma Bell agreement?  Streaming is an amenity for your citizens so yeah, the cities should be expected to give a little fair use for public land so we can have nice things. 

[burntorangebongos 10787]

1 hour ago, Lobo said:

Well, no.  You see, once you've earned two letters in a varsity sport...you pluralize it.  You are then a 2-year lettermen.  You can't say "Letters, Man"...you would sound high as fuck.

It is letterman. 2 year letterman, tonto.

[Samson's Wig 3195]

[Guest Lobo]

No shit, dude?  My lame attempt at humor.  I was just picturing a stoned guy trying to validate, "2-year letters...Man."  And it was funny to me.  

But like my uncle once told me, "You never had the makings of a varsity lettermans."  

[Samson's Wig 3195]

These streaming companies will laugh their ass off at this lawsuit, most likely.  They can outspend these dumbfuck law firms till they put them out of business.

[TwiceHorn 31695]

1 hour ago, Samson's Wig said:

These streaming companies will laugh their ass off at this lawsuit, most likely.  They can outspend these dumbfuck law firms till they put them out of business.

McKool Smith has put the hurt on some pretty large entities in more expensive litigation than this will ever be.

[Fudge Nuggets 19279]

MC Cool Smiff is the name I use when I bust the dope cuts on the wheels of steel.

[CooterBrown 18097]

All Netflix and the others need to do is message that residents will either see a fee increase or lose their service if the lawsuits continue. The political fallout would be something to behold.

On second thought, it’d be like the Uber fiasco. The City would create its own streaming service that only shows transgendered homeless documentaries.

[Deej 77202]

4 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

The City would create its own streaming service that only shows transgendered homeless documentaries.

And pay some recent RTF grad enough money to live in Tarrytown to make them. 

[Celery Man 21028]

2 hours ago, TKthunder2 said:

So dumb, but at least they aren’t going after PornHub or xvideos…

pantyjobs, homegrown simpsons stuff

[DalTxHornFan 3122]

47 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

McKool Smith has put the hurt on some pretty large entities in more expensive litigation than this will ever be.

No doubt that they are a big-time law firm, but this lawsuit seems dubious.  I pay for surly, the WSJ, some legal and investigative databases erry month.  Does the City of Austin really get a piece of action from that?

P.S. -- just started thinking about my other online services that I pay for:  AVG, Office 365, Dropbox, PACER, research.txcourts.gov.  Nuts!

Edited December 11, 2021 by DalTxHornFan

[Deej 77202]

Have we heard an opinion from our "Mah Freedoms, small government" councilmember FitLump? Does the city get a cut of her cam girl money?

[Cap33 404]

3 hours ago, Lobo said:

Sometimes it honestly does hurt to live in the dumbest fucking city in the dumbest fucking state in a country awash in celebrating its own stupidity.  

This. It's just one dumb shit, peacocking stunt after another for this crew. But hey, I bet Steve, et al. can get another guest spot on MSNBC out of it.

[HornOnTheBayou 8967]

2 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

On second thought, it’d be like the Uber fiasco. The City would create its own streaming service that only shows transgendered homeless documentaries.

Goddammit, don't give them any ideas!

[Samson's Wig 3195]

14 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

McKool Smith has put the hurt on some pretty large entities in more expensive litigation than this will ever be.

I don't doubt there will be a payday for these schmucks.  I mean the deep pockets involved here will laugh while they just buy them off.   What a ridiculous shakedown.

[Samson's Wig 3195]

13 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:

No doubt that they are a big-time law firm, but this lawsuit seems dubious.  I pay for surly, the WSJ, some legal and investigative databases erry month.  Does the City of Austin really get a piece of action from that?

P.S. -- just started thinking about my other online services that I pay for:  AVG, Office 365, Dropbox, PACER, research.txcourts.gov.  Nuts!

It's absolutely ridiculous, but no one should be shocked when government at any level sees a pie and wants to stick its fat sausage fingers in there to take half for itself.

Edited December 11, 2021 by Samson's Wig

[Wally Pryor 5314]

Today, we have some hope. Watson has entered the race and will almost surely be the next Mayor of Austin. I don't give a shit if it's a democrat or republican. It's a given in Austin that it's going to the former. What does matter is that Watson has shown to be practical, level-headed and, god forbid, sensible. In other words, all the things that the pathetic, wet rag current mayor is not. The unbridled, maniacal lunacy that has been and continues permeate the tribe on the ACC isn't going away. But at least we have hope now that some real, and reasonable, leadership is in store for Austin. 

If I'm disappointed in Watson, then so be it. No one or no thing will ever be worse than the current funeral home director masquerading as a mayor. 

[demos 3019]

Watson’s back bitches!