TWITTER HAS UPDATED its rules – simplifying language and condensing the information it provides to users in a bid to boost transparency on the social media platform.

Twitter, like other social media platforms, has faced criticism in recent years for failing to properly police hate speech, abuse and harassment on the website.

The newly refreshed rules page will include step-by-step instructions about how to report abuse, harassment and inappropriate conduct on Twitter. 

In a bid to introduce greater clarity, the length of the rules have also been significantly cut – from 2,500 words to under 600. 

Each individual rule has also been scaled back to 280 characters or less - the same as the length of a tweet. 

Twitter has introduced three new categories – safety, privacy and authenticity – which the social media giant says will allow users to find information more quickly. It has been routinely criticised for failing to offer people adequate ways of reporting abuse on the platform, which Twitter says is used by 126 million users daily. 

This week, Youtube was forced to shift its harassment policy after a Vox Media journalist highlighted the homophobic abuse he was routinely receiving on the video-sharing platform.