Twitter has admitted it needs to get tougher on trolls and has already introduced new ways to report abuse to weed out the perpetrators. But now it's taking aim at the rising levels of revenge porn and stolen nude photos posted to the site. Its rules now say that users must not 'post intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject's consent'. Twitter's rules have been updated in an attempt to clamp down on revenge porn. Under 'Private information' (pictured) the guidelines now say that users must not 'post intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject's consent'. The site said it will verify complaints and suspended abusive users . The changes were spotted by BuzzFeedNews, which recently submitted a Q&A to Reddit when the community site took a similar stance against pornographic posts. Twitter has used these questions to address the changes. Both Twitter's rules and abusive behaviour policy have been updated to reflect these changes. Twitter said that an affected user can report a post if they believe it contains photos or videos posted without their consent. In February a law was passed that made posting revenge porn images and videos a criminal offence in England and Wales. Both Scotland and Northern Ireland are considering similar laws. Under the rules, revenge porn is considered: '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'. It covers images shared without the subject's permission and 'with the intent to cause harm. Offenders face up to two years in jail. This follows laws in sixteen US states - including Alaska, California,  New Jersey and Texas - explicitly relating to revenge porn. Under copyright laws the video or photos technically belong to the person who took it and who can, in theory, distribute it as they see fit but  Twitter's rules additionally considers the people in the footage. It will ask the person reporting the abuse to verify  they are the person in the post and that it was posted without their permission. Twitter said 'agents will then act on content posted in violation of the policy', including removing the post or suspending the accounts of repeat offenders. 'Users who believe that content they post has been incorrectly identified is violating the policy can appeal the decision and agents will review that request as well,' said the firm. 'Content that is identified as violating our policy will be hidden from public view and users posting it will have their accounts locked; those users will be required to delete the content in question before being able to return to the platform. 'Users posting such content with an intent to harass will be subject to suspension from Twitter.' The changes follow reports Twitter would start banning users who violate its rules by tracking  email addresses and phone numbers. This means that if an offender attempts to sign up for other accounts using these details Twitter will be able to intervene. Reports recently claimed Twitter will start banning trolls and abusive users by tracking email addresses and phone numbers. When people sign up by email they are also given the option to add a phone number (pictured). In the future, Twitter may  ban accounts accused of abuse until they provide this number . Stories of abuse, threats and internet trolls have become commonplace on Twitter in recent years. Robin Williams' daughter, Zelda Williams, left the social platform last year after being sent disturbing images in the wake of her father's suicide. Feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian was threatened with rape, sexual violence and death by Twitter trolls during the 'Gamergate' saga after she criticised the way women are portrayed in video games. In the UK, journalist Caroline Criado-Perez also received rape threats after she voiced her support for the campaign to introduce Jane Austen as the new face of the £10 note. Twitter users Isabella Sorley and John Nimmo admitted sending the messages to Ms Criado-Perez and both were jailed last year. When people sign up to Twitter they are required to provide an email address, which is then validated. Adding a phone number is an optional step and is predominantly used if people want to receive text notifications or setup two-step verification. Under the reported plans, once a user is banned these email addresses and phone numbers will be stored and cross-referenced each time a new user signs up to the site. Last month an internal memo sent by Twitter's chief executive Dick Costolo revealed the 51-year-old thinks his site 'sucks at dealing with abuse and trolls'. In the memo, Mr Costolo said  he is embarrassed by the way the company handles abuse and that it must take stronger action in the future. Mr Costolo's comments were posted on an internal forum among Twitter employees, after one employee raised the question of what more could be done to tackle online abuse. In December, a blog post titled 'Building a safer Twitter' revealed  Twitter is working on ways to make it easier to block and report abuse. The site has since improved the reporting process to make it more mobile-friendly, and it now requires less initial information. In December, a blog post titled 'Building a safer Twitter' revealed  Twitter is working on ways to make it easier to block and report abuse. The site has since improved the reporting process to make it more mobile-friendly, and it now requires less initial information. It has also made it simpler to flag tweets and accounts for review . These enhancements similarly improved the reporting process for people who see abuse but aren't directly receiving it. More recently the site posted a follow-up blog updating users on its new safety features. MailOnline has contacted Twitter for more information about how users details will be stored . Under the Malicious Communications Act 1988, any 'indecent or grossly offensive' message that causes 'distress or anxiety' to the recipient can lead to prosecution. The maximum punishment is a fine not exceeding level four on the standard scale - i.e. no more than £2,500. Since the 1988 law came into force before the widespread use of the internet, e-mail and social networking, prosecutors have used a number of different laws to charge Twitter trolls. Student Liam Stacey, who sent a series of racially abusive tweets after footballer Fabrice Muamba collapsed, was charged under the Crime and Disorder Act. Two men jailed for inciting riots last summer were found guilty under the Serious Crime Act, and Paul Chambers, who joked he would blow Doncaster airport 'sky high' was charged under the Communications Act 2003. It has also made it simpler to flag tweets and accounts for review. These enhancements similarly improved the reporting process for people who see abuse but aren't directly receiving it. More recently, the site posted a follow-up blog updating users on its new safety features. Tina Bhatnagar, Twitter's vice president of User Services said: 'Over the last six months, in addition to the product changes, we have overhauled how we review user reports about abuse. 'Overall, we now review five times as many user reports as we did previously, and we have tripled the size of the support team focused on handling abuse reports. 'We are also beginning to add several new enforcement actions for use against accounts that violate our rules. These new actions will not be visible to the vast majority of rule-abiding Twitter users - but they give us new options for acting against the accounts that don't follow the rules and serve to discourage behavior that goes against our policies. The safety of our users is extremely important to us. It's something we continue to work hard to improve.' In recent years Twitter has come under fire for failing to protect its users from trolls. Robin Williams' daughter, Zelda Williams, left the social platform last year after being sent disturbing images in the wake of her father's death. She made an appeal to her  followers to report two users on Twitter (shown above)
Twitter updated its rules and behaviour policy to tackle revenge porn . Users can no longer 'post intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject's consent'
It said it will carry out checks to verify the people making the complaints . And if a post is found to breach its rules, the user could be suspended . Twitter boss Dick Costolo recently said site 'sucks' at dealing with trolls . In an internal memo he also took responsibility for Twitter's problems . Twitter streamlined its abuse reporting system in December .