Apple has agreed to let developers of iPhone apps email their users about cheaper ways to pay for digital subscriptions and media by circumventing a commission system that generates billions of dollars annually for the iPhone maker.

The concession announced late Thursday, which covers emailed notifications but does not allow in-app notifications, is part of a preliminary settlement of a nearly 2-year-old lawsuit filed on behalf of iPhone app developers in the U.S. It also addresses an issue raised by a federal court judge who is expected to soon rule on a separate case brought by Epic Games, maker of the popular video game Fortnite.

A White House cybersecurity gathering including Big Tech executives was set Wednesday to unveil steps aimed at improving cybersecurity following high-profile attacks which raised questions about the vulnerability of so-called critical infrastructure.

President Joe Biden and key cabinet officials were to host the chief executives of Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft along with leaders from the finance and utilities sectors, a senior administration official said.

Nine activists from Bahrain had their iPhones hacked by advanced spyware made by the Israeli company NSO Group, the world's most infamous hacker-for-hire firm, a cybersecurity watchdog reported on Tuesday.

Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said NSO Group's Pegasus malware successfully hacked the phones between June 2020 and February 2021. Those reportedly hacked included members of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and two political dissidents living in exile. At least one of the activists lived in London when the hacking occurred, Citizen Lab said.

Online accommodation platform Airbnb offered on Tuesday to house 20,000 Afghan refugees for free around the world, as people flee Kabul following the Taliban takeover.

After dominating the electric vehicle market and throwing his hat into the billionaire space race, Tesla boss Elon Musk announced the latest frontier he's aiming to conquer: humanoid robots.

Facebook has released new security measures to protect users in Afghanistan after the lightning takeover of the country by the Taliban, who are already barred from the social media giant's platforms.

Following recommendations from activists, journalists and civil society groups, the company said users can now shield their posts from people they don't know.

Chinese astronauts edged into space on Friday to add the finishing touches to a robotic arm on the Tiangong space station.

The foray, the second spacewalk in two months and relayed on state television, is part of China's heavily promoted space program which has already seen the nation land a rover on Mars and send probes to the moon.

Twitter on Tuesday announced a new feature to allow users to flag content that could contain misinformation, a scourge that has only grown during the pandemic. 

"We're testing a feature for you to report Tweets that seem misleading - as you see them," the social network said from its safety and security account. 

Facebook said Tuesday it was blocking WhatsApp accounts linked to the Taliban after the radical Islamic group seized control of Afghanistan and sought to use the messaging service to help it govern.

"The Taliban is sanctioned as a terrorist organization under U.S. law and we have banned them from our services under our Dangerous Organization policies," a Facebook spokesperson told AFP.

Cryptocurrency investors have been transfixed over the past few days by the antics of a mysterious hacker who stole more than $600 million -- before giving some of it back.

But is the thief a good Samaritan who stole the money to expose a dangerous security flaw, or did they simply realize they were about to be caught?