Twitter: No More Rape or Bomb Threat Tweets

Twitter is finally cracking down on abuse after a number of incidents in the UK where high-profile women were threatened via tweet. Both a feminist activist and a politician were threatened with rape last month, while several female journalists were tweeted bomb threats, reports USA Today. After an online petition garnered 125,000 signatures calling for Twitter to take "a zero tolerance policy on abuse," and criticism from British journalists and politicians, the social media service has announced it will change its rules and add a "report abuse" button for tweets, the Guardian reports.

The new rules state that users "may not engage in targeted abuse or harassment," especially if "the reported behavior is one-sided or includes threats," CNET reports. In a blog post by Twitter UK, the service says it will also add extra staff members to handle abuse complaints, and will work with the UK Safer Internet Centre "to expand our user resources on digital citizenship and staying safe online." (More Twitter stories.)