Published: June 3, 2021
By: Ryan Nelsen | LSU Manship School News Wire
BATON ROUGE, La. (LSU Manship School News Wire) – Sen. Jay Morris, a Republican from West Monroe, attempted to pass a social media regulation bill through the House Commerce Committee Thursday, but his attempt ended before it began.
“Six members, we don’t have a quorum,” said Allie King, the committee’s administrative assistant, after calling attendance for the 16-person committee.
“I’m shocked that there is not a quorum here today,” said Morris. “And it doesn’t look like I’m going to get a vote on this very important bill.”
The bill, which would have allowed users to sue companies like Facebook and Google if their posts were blocked, can no longer move forward in any capacity. Morris trudged forward and gave his prepared opening statement to the five Republican committee members and one Democrat who were present.
Seven Republicans and three Democrats were absent.
The bill would have allowed social media users to seek up to $75,000 in court if their religious or political posts were knowingly deleted or censored by a website.
“The means by which information is being distributed in this nation, and Louisiana, is going through a small handful of companies who decide what we should be able to see,” said Morris.
Conservatives have been upset with social media companies for some time, and their complaints escalated when Twitter and Facebook suspended President Donald Trump’s posts after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
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LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 