News and Notes Roundup - 9/21/2015

Happy Monday, dear readers! DC is all abuzz with the impending papal visit this week, but you can bet the NDItech team is still working hard around the clock, regardless of the crazy traffic!

Today is International Day of Peace and groups and people are observing this important day all over the world. Our friends at the United States Institute of Peace have thrown the gauntlet to the world with the Peace Day Challenge. Commit to an act of peacebuilding, do it, then share the story with #PeaceDayChallenge. Want to learn more about peacebuilding? The wonderful people at PeaceTech Labs created a simple game to help people learn the basics.

The drawn-out debate over data encryption is grinding some gears in Washington as the Obama administration looks toward supporting ubiquitous encryption, claiming it would support American firms overseas and would improve chances for future cooperation on encryption. The FBI director warns that universal encryption could help criminal and terrorist organizations, but Google is moving full steam ahead on encrypting user data, paying no heed to the warnings. Check out this op-ed by national security experts arguing the debate is overblown and encryption is essential.

As always, have some insight or a hot tech tip? Tweet us at @NDItech or shoot us an email at [email protected]. Have a great week!

Tech News:

• Facebook seems to be introducing a dislike button

• The Zune music streaming service is getting switched off in November, according to Microsoft

• BBC is launching a Netflix-style streaming service in the States very soon

• Politwoops’s archive of deleted tweets was published by OpenState

• The EU’s data retention has created a behemoth of a mess

• Reports show that legal streaming is growing much faster than torrenting worldwide

• The CISO for Homeland Security argues for pulling security clearance from federal employees who fail phishing tests

• French authorities order Google to extend the “right to be forgotten” globally or face massive fines

ICT4D:

• NASA and USAID teamed up to solve problems with satellites, validating the US’s much beloved space program

• Watch out for these five African tech startups as they take the e-commerce market by storm

• We all use digital currency and here’s why it’s key to global development

• NetApp, a California-based data firm, announced its new regional director for Southern Africa, affirming its commitment to development in Africa

• Here’s how social media and technology are helping to reduce gender-based violence in Cambodia

• Check out how technology can be best utilized to meet the Sustainable Development Goals

Mobile News:

• Lyft made a new friend in China last week, allowing it to surpass Uber in the Chinese ridesharing game

• In the age of the smartphone, are SMS projects still relevant?

• Many apps on the iOS App Store were found to contain some nasty malware and Apple is staying mum on the details

• Microsoft’s Band 2 is likely to be a more wrist-friendly wearable

• Controversial startup Zerodium announced a $1M reward to the first person who can hack the new iPhone