Twitter adds more reporting tools to curb abuse and improve safety

The company took some steps in this direction late last year, when it made it easier to report harassment in tweets. Now it's making it easier to report other behaviors including impersonation, self-harm and the sharing of private or confidential information. The changes will begin rolling out Thursday and should reach all users in the coming weeks.

As a result of the changes it made already, Twitter now reviews five times as many user reports as it did previously, the company said, and it has tripled the number of people who handle such reports at the company. It has also reduced its response time to a fraction of what it once was, the company says.

Twitter has been criticized for not doing enough to deal with issues like harassment and hate speech. In an internal memo leaked to The Verge recently, CEO Dick Costolo said the company 'sucked' at dealing with abuse.

On Thursday, Twitter also said it will take new enforcement action against people who violate its rules, which also ban threats and violent speech. The company didn't respond to elaborate, but it will reportedly check phone numbers and email addresses to keep out the worst offenders.

Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service. Follow Zach on Twitter at @zachminers. Zach's e-mail address is zach_miners@idg.com