Twitter bans distribution of hacked materials

Twitter announced new "election integrity" rules for its platform Monday, including stricter rules against fake accounts, punishments for accounts associated with banned accounts and a prohibition against sharing hacked materials.

Why it matters: The first two rule changes likely conform with what people assume Twitter's rules already are. The third rule is a little more complex.

The announcement:

"Our rules prohibit the distribution of hacked material that contains private information or trade secrets, or could put people in harm’s way. We are also expanding the criteria for when we will take action on accounts which claim responsibility for a hack, which includes threats and public incentives to hack specific people and accounts. Commentary about a hack or hacked materials, such as news articles discussing a hack, are generally not considered a violation of this policy."

The big picture: Twitter was the platform used by reporters and other folks to communicate with Russian cut-out persona Guccifer 2.0 about the 2016 election hacking scandal. It's also a common venue for other hackers to announce activity. Given the rate links to files get shared on Twitter, it will be interesting to see how it is enforced.