A US federal court has ordered Apple to accommodate developers when it comes to payments for apps and services. The ruling came in the legal tussle between Apple and Epic Games.

The feature had been intended to scan for images of child sexual abuse. But it quickly drew concern over potential misuse as a "backdoor" for hacking and surveillance.

The American press breaks down the "sinister brilliance" of an anti-abortion law that's gone into effect in Texas. We also look at coverage of record flooding in New York and how the intensity of storms is increasingly hard to predict because of climate change. Finally, we discover the papers' take on the latest in brain science: how our thoughts could soon be read by machines and how dogs may be smarter than we thought.

The iPhone and iPad manufacturer said its plan to check the photos of US users for evidence of child abuse had been widely "misunderstood". CEO Tim Cook is yet to publicly comment on the privacy row.

Apple has defended a new system that scans users' phones for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

"NeuralHash" technology makes it possible to detect child sex abuse images uploaded to the cloud. Privacy advocates fear technology invites political mission creep, especially in authoritarian states.

A key target of the investigation will be Apple's App Store, which allows the company to have influence over the business activities of third parties.

Apple Daily's chief editor Ryan Law and CEO Cheung Kim-hung have appeared in a Hong Kong court, charged with collusion with a foreign country to endanger national security.

Apple has announced further privacy protection for users, after it introduced a 'do not track' option in third-party apps earlier this year. The changes include allowing users to see what information is being shared by apps, and stopping tracking via marketing email messages.

A shadow of fear hangs over Hong Kong's outspoken and staunchly pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, with its wealthy owner Jimmy Lai now jailed and many reporters asking themselves "Are we next?"

The CEO of Apple took the stand to reject a lawsuit filed by Epic Games claiming the tech giant is abusing its position with its online marketplace and claiming outsized commissions.

The case against Apple has been brought by German media and tech firms who fear "opt-in" ad tracker rules will massively hurt their revenues. Facebook is fiercely opposing the move.