• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, July 10, 2019

After months of listening to users and external experts, Twitter says it's decided to expand its rules against "hateful conduct" to include language that "dehumanizes" others on the basis of religion.

Twitter now plans to delete any such tweets once they are reported.

Prior tweets deemed to violate the new rule will also be deleted, but will not trigger account suspensions, says the social platform.

Last year, Twitter asked for feedback regarding what content users found especially harmful to the social community.

More than 8,000 responses from users from more than 30 countries were received over two weeks, with many asking for details, examples of violations, and explanations for when and how context is considered, reports Twitter.

Respondents also told Twitter that “identifiable groups” is too broad, and suggested they be allowed to engage with political groups, hate groups and other "non-marginalized" groups by calling them out "in any way, any time, without fear,” according to Twitter.

Users also raised concerns about Twitter’s ability to enforce its rules fairly and consistently.

In response, the company says, it developed a longer, more in-depth training process to ensure its teams are better informed when reviewing reports.

Twitter says it incorporated this feedback when refining its rule, and also added more specifics meant to enhance the clarity of all of its rules.

As always, Twitter says the platform is a work in progress, subject to ongoing changes.