Twitter plans to hide abusive tweets, block repeat offenders

San Francisco

TWITTER Inc says it has come up with new ways to make abusive tweeters less effective: hiding their content and preventing banned users from creating new accounts.

The updates, detailed in a blog post, come after years of criticism that the company hasn't done enough to combat abuse and harassment. It's part of a new push under chief executive officer Jack Dorsey to clean up the social media service. On Twitter, where people don't have to use their real names, the same environment that encourages open discussion also helps Internet trolls thrive.