Louisiana Public Service Commission Meeting Interrupted By Porn
The Louisiana Public Service Commission was holding a meeting Wednesday to address concerns about utility loss and restoration as a result of Hurricane Ida. While the five member commission was preparing to discuss multiple issues, and hold a handful of votes, their meeting was hijacked by a graphic video displaying pornographic sex acts, according to The Advocate. This led to a 15 minute recess for the meeting.
How did this happen? Well, today's Public Service Commission meeting was being held on Zoom, a video conferencing platform. With that comes regulations related to Open Meeting laws, which require the virtual call to remain open to hundreds (potentially thousands) of people. Todays call featured a mix of media, lawyers, lobbyists, and executives from utility companies.
After the disruption, and 15 minute break, the Commission returned. They announced at that point that they would attempt to hurry votes they needed to take, and that if they were interrupted again, the meeting would be shut down. It appeared they were aiming to take the votes they recognized as "required", but ended up going longer.
The meeting continued into the afternoon, continuing for more than 3 hours after the interruption.
Commission Chair Craig Greene of Baton Rouge told The Advocate:
"It was unfortunate and disgusting. Apparently, the hackers have adequate electricity and internet access."
The Public Service Commission appears to be headed down a road that will keep them in the spotlight beyond this hacking instance as well. There are a lot of unhappy Louisiana residents who are looking for answers about electricity and phone service in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Right now it would appear the Public Service Commission will be the ones tackling these concerns.