Mr. Schmidt. (Photo: flickr.com/jolieodell)

Forget the red phone. The European competition commissioner and Eric Schmidt have a more modern means of communicating about maybe-maybe-not antitrust-violating business practices: SMS!

The New York Times reports that even as Joaquín Almunia hashes out a final settlement over the way Google handles its search and advertising businesses, he's received a new complaint from companies including Nokia and the perpetual whiners at Microsoft. They say Google uses Android "to promote its own products and services in a majority of smartphones sold to consumers."

But that doesn't mean the pair have to communicate solely through lawyers and strategic leaks to the press. Mr. Alumina is hip. He gets technology! (He even chatted with Sheryl Sandberg at Davos about "the relationship between the search activity and the social network’s activity, but they were general conversations,” he informed the Times).

And that's why he feels free just hittin' up Eric with a text. The Times reports:

Joaquín Almunia sometimes sends Eric E. Schmidt a text.

Like his predecessors, Mr. Almunia has the power to block mergers or fine companies billions of dollars. But where he differs is in how comfortable he is in communicating with executives across the table — or the ocean — to negotiate settlements that avoid long battles.

“I have an open phone line, or e-mail line, or SMS line at any moment,” Mr. Almunia said in an interview Monday.

Bet Mr. Schmidt has approximately 500 unanswered texts from Kim Jong-Un, who just wants to be pals.

Gotcha! (Photo: In the Capital)

Today Facebook will probably be unveiling a revamp of its News Feed, complete with content-specific streams like a photo feed. Also: bigger, better ads. [TechCrunch]

"Nightmare bacteria" are officially a thing, resistant to antibiotics and haunting your worst hospital-related dreams. So if anybody's got any really clever public-health ideas, now's the time. [Washington Post]

"Once I emerged from a coding bender with a fine, downy moss on my legs and trunk, a colony of moths in my hair. Are you honestly ready to bring such a symphony of efficiency to a halt?" [Tim Sniffen]

The EU has no intention of letting U.S.-based tech companies ignore its stringent data-protection laws. [Bloomberg]

But the EU might also be walking back some of its strictest rules. [ZD Net]

Apparently Carl Icahn is being a party-pooper about Dell's attempt to go private. [Reuters]

Do not steal form her. (Photo: Necole Betchie)

Well look who's scroogling screwing people now. The European Union has fined Microsoft $731 million for violating its promise to offer consumers a choice of web browser. Probably because when given a choice, no one will pick Internet Explorer. [Reuters]

Facebook plans to announce better ways to filter News Feed content at tomorrow's big press event, including being able to view just Instagram photos. Photos will also appear larger for posts and, of course, ads. [TechCrunch]

What happens when you share Beyonce files on BitTorrent? Sony smacks you with a $233,000 damages lawsuit. That's what you get for stealing from Queen Bey, we suppose. [TorrentFreak]

The FBI is secretly spying on some Google users, though because of national security, Google can only give an estimate of how many accounts have been tapped. [Wired]

JFK employees reportedly saw a drone aircraft flying around yesterday, and now the FBI wants your help tracking it. [Motherboard]

After the vote, lead committee member and (and crusading ACTA opponent) David Martin explained that the document was simply too vague and the sanctions seemed disproportionate. Then he got a little grandiose, as parliamentarians have been known to do: "I'm glad that civil liberties won over," he said.

This isn't technically the end of A.C.T.A. Unlike in the U.S. Congress, where bills must make their way out of committee onto the floor for a formal vote, I.N.T.A. was merely deciding whether or not to recommend the treaty's passage. It'll still go up for a Parliament-wide vote in July. But the committee's decision carries a great deal of weight, and if rejected in that vote, it's curtains.

This prompts us to wonder what an Anon party looks like.