Fight for the Future is calling on Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to disclose any "dark money" funds Democrats have received from Big Tech.

As the Senate majority leader, Schumer controls whether a couple of bipartisan Big Tech-regulating bills get a floor vote after being favorably reported out of the Senate Commerce Committee. To date, he has not scheduled a vote and Fight for the Future wrote Schumer saying the funding needed to be out in the open to dispel the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The group, which backs the bills, said disclosure would “help reassure a public that is questioning your hesitation in cracking down on Big Tech despite broad, bipartisan public support for doing so.”

Also: Group Pushes Schumer To Watch John Oliver Big Tech Video

The bills they want Schumer to advance to a floor vote are S. 2992 and S. 2710.

S. 2992, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, is billed as preventing online favoritism.

Specifically, it would:

• 1. “Prohibit dominant platforms from abusing their gatekeeper power by favoring their own products or services, disadvantaging rivals, or discriminating among businesses that use their platforms in a manner that would materially harm competition on the platform; and  
• a. “Prohibit specific forms of conduct that are harmful to small businesses, entrepreneurs, and consumers, but that do not have any pro-competitive benefit, including: 
• i. “Preventing another business’s product or service from interoperating with the dominant platform or another business;  
• ii. “Requiring a business to buy a dominant platform’s goods or services for preferred placement on its platform;  
• iii. “Misusing a business’s data to compete against them; and iv. “Biasing search results in favor of the dominant firm; and 
• iv. “Biasing search results in favor of the dominant firm.”

Reading like an app net neutrality rule for Apple and Google, S. 2710, the Open Apps Market Act, would prevent a covered company from restricting the use of alternative in-app payment systems; or from favoring their own terms of distribution, pricing or conditions of sale; or penalize developers for using different pricing terms or conditions via another in-app payment system.

It prevents a Google or Apple, for example, from using info derived from a third-party app to compete with that same app.

That bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support (21-1) back in February and was backed by the odd couple pairing of liberal Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and conservative Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

In a press conference last month, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and other S. 2992 sponsors and supporters said they need to get a vote ASAP, before the August recess. She pointed out that the leaders of both the House and Senate [the latter would be Schumer] have promised a vote and need to schedule it. Klobuchar pointed out that it has been over a year and there has been no vote on the bill. She also said that Big Tech has spent some $70 million on ads in the past year and employed thousands of lobbyists.

The airwaves and wires (cable) in D.C. have definitely been blanketed with scary ads suggesting the bills could end Amazon Prime's two-day delivery service, among just one of a parade of horribles. ■

Fight for the Future, a group pushing new regulations on Big Tech, is taking the fight to the home(s) of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Over the weekend, the group parked billboard trucks outside Schumer’s homes in Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn, New York, looping a segment from HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on regulating Big Tech.

Oliver was famous for pushing the Federal Communications Commission to impose network-neutrality regs on internet service providers, but like many Washington legislators on both sides of the aisle, he has turned his attention to the power of edge providers.

Also: Sponsors Urge Action on Bipartisan Big Tech Competition Bill

The video billboard also directs passersby to Fight for the Future’s website, the aptly named MakeSchumerWatchJohnOliver.com, which will allow them to tweet the segment directly to the senator as well.

Fight for the Future is looking to fight fire with fire, as it were, given that Big Tech backers have blanketed media in Washington with ads arguing the bills represent a parade of horrible from allowing dangerous malware, to essentially breaking Amazon Prime's free two-day delivery.

The bills they want Schumer to advance to a floor vote are S. 2992 and S. 2710.

S. 2992, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, is billed as preventing online favoritism.

Specifically, it would:

• 1. “Prohibit dominant platforms from abusing their gatekeeper power by favoring their own products or services, disadvantaging rivals, or discriminating among businesses that use their platforms in a manner that would materially harm competition on the platform; and 
• a. “Prohibit specific forms of conduct that are harmful to small businesses, entrepreneurs, and consumers, but that do not have any pro-competitive benefit, including: 
• i. “Preventing another business’s product or service from interoperating with the dominant platform or another business; 
• ii. “Requiring a business to buy a dominant platform’s goods or services for preferred placement on its platform; 
• iii. “Misusing a business’s data to compete against them; and 
• iv. “Biasing search results in favor of the dominant firm."

Reading like an app net neutrality rule for Apple and Google, S. 2710, the Open Apps Market Act, would prevent a covered company from restricting the use of alternative in-app payment systems; or from favoring their own terms of distribution, pricing or conditions of sale; or penalize developers for using different pricing terms or conditions via another in-app payment system.

It prevents a Google or Apple, for example, from using info derived from a third-party app to compete with that same app.

The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support (21-1) back in February and was backed by the odd couple pairing of liberal Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and conservative Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

“We know as soon as Schumer watches the John Oliver segment he’ll understand why S. 2992 and S. 2710 are so important, stop stalling, and move them to the floor for a vote,” said Fight for the Future.

Democratic legislators are also pushing Schumer to hold the votes.

In a press conference earlier this month, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and other  2992 sponsors and supporters said they need to get a vote ASAP, before the August recess. She pointed out that the leaders of both the House and Senate [that would be Schumer] need have promised a vote and need to schedule it. Sen. Klobuchar pointed out that it has been over a year and there has been no vote on the bill. She also said that Big Tech has spent some $70 million on ads in the past year and employed thousands of lobbyists. ■

Soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling for the removal of the President.

Following the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters egged on by the President Wednesday and the eventual certification of Joe Biden as the next Presidents, Schumer tweeted early Thursday afternoon: "What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by President Trump. This president must not hold office one day longer."

Also Read: Joe Scarborough Drops F-Bomb

The news media were riveted to scenes of crowds of Confederate and Trump flag-waving mostly white men breaking into the Capitol and roaming the halls of Congress, having breached, arguably too easily, two police perimeters. One woman was shot and killed during the protest, property was damaged, and some legislators had to don gas masks to protect themselves from the tear gas. 

The President had called on thousands of his supporters to go to the Capitol, where the electoral votes for Joe Biden were being counted, telling them the election was rigged and they should not stand for it.

The storming was widely described as insurrection.

Related: Networks Hustle to Cover Capitol Coup

There were reports Thursday that members of the President's cabinet had raised the issue of invoking the 25th Amendment, which allows for the removal of a President before his term expires if Vice President and a majority of cabinet members provide a written declaration to Congress that the President "is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

The Vice President, in this case Mike Pence, would "immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President."

Schumer also reportedly talked about using the amendment to remove the President, as well as impeachment.

Talking to CBS News about the possible invocation of the 25th Amendment, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said: "You’d have to have a majority of his cabinet, Vice President, remove him and that is going to be up to them...I supported impeaching him, removing him from office and I’m just being realistic about what’s going to happen here, but they better be ready to do that if this continues because you cannot have a President leading insurrection against our own country’s government."

Trump tweeted through aid Dan Scavino Thursday that he was willing to accept a peaceful transition of power Jan. 20, if not the election results.

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Communications Subcommittee, said late Thursday (Jan. 7) that he has co-sponsored articles of impeachment against the President.