Twitter changes rules to ban 'revenge porn'

Twitter has changed its rules in an attempt to stop users posting so-called "revenge porn".

The social network's rules now state: "You may not post intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject's consent."

Last month posting revenge porn images became a criminal offence in England and Wales.

A spokesperson for the company said users found to have broken the new rule "will have their accounts locked".

Users who complain to Twitter about photos or videos posted will be asked to verify their identity and prove they did not give consent for it to be shared publicly.

Anyone found to have posted material against the new rule would then be required to "delete the content in question before being able to return to the platform".

A change in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill in England and Wales means anyone found guilty of posting intimate pictures of someone without their consent can face up to two years in jail.

The new law classes revenge porn as "photographs or films which show people engaged in sexual activity or depicted in a sexual way or with their genitals exposed, where what is shown would not usually be seen in public".

The law applies to images sent on social networks and by text message.

Several US states have revenge porn laws in place including California, Texas and Utah.

Twitter's rule change may be seen as an attempt to counter criticism that it is not effective in dealing with abuse among its users.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo recently admitted the company "sucks" at dealing with trolls.

In a leaked memo to staff, Mr Costolo wrote: "We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we've sucked at it for years.

"It's no secret that the rest of the world talks about it every day. We lose core user after core user by not addressing simple trolling issues that they face every day."

In December, Twitter said in a blog post that it would it would give users more controls and improve the way users could report abusive accounts.

Twitter is confident it can deal with all reports of revenge porn "in a timely manner".

The company said it would act in response to "specific" cases of its rules being broken, but suggested it could make use of technology to ensure banned images were not reposted.

"Twitter is continuing to explore product solutions to allow us to act faster and more efficiently to protect our users," said a spokesperson.