The laws have recently changed for defenders too. Specific mention of players making their body unnaturally bigger, and for handball to be the decision when they do was written in for the first time this season. So was saying that should a player touch the ball with their hand above shoulder height that it will be classed as handball.
It's in the IFAB Summary of Main Changes Laws of the Game document for 2019/20
It's in the Premier League's website where it talks about handball rule changes for this season
It's on the Bundesliga's website talking about rule changes
You will find it in the full laws of the game for 2019/20 (Law 12, fouls and misconduct, Handling the ball, page 104 of the pdf)
You will find no mention of such a thing in the 2018/19 laws of the game (Law 12, fouls and misconduct, Handling the ball, page 102)
A prototype of these rules were put in place for the Champions League knock out stages last season, hence there being a fair number of handballs that people disagreed with. The term 'natural silhouette' started to get mentioned for the first time before it was eventually worded 'unaturally bigger'. -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47471380 &
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stricter-handball-rules-in-champions-league-warns-uefa-6hh0gs38n
One of the very first tournaments to officially use these the new set of laws was the Women's World Cup as it started a few days after the changes were put in practice. Again, many people thought they were being too harsh when giving penalties in incidents like the first goal from this video, and that without VAR/the re-written law that they wouldn't be:
No, rules haven't really changed for defenders, what they've done is make it clearer how situations should be interpreted. IFAB call it a re-writing for greater clarity.
Deliberate handball remains an offenc
The following ‘handball’ situations, even if accidental, will be a free kick:
•
the ball goes into the goal after touching an attacking player’s hand/arm
•
a player gains control/possession of the ball after it has touches their hand/arm and then scores, or creates a goal-scoring opportunity
• the ball touches a player’s hand/arm which has made their body unnaturally bigger
• the ball touches a player’s hand/arm when it is above their shoulder (unless the player has deliberately played the ball which then touches their hand/arm)
The following will not usually be a free kick, unless they are one of the above situations:
• the ball touches a player’s hand/arm directly from their own head/body/foot or the head/body/foot of another player who is close/near
• the ball touches a player’s hand/arm which is close to their body and has not made their body unnaturally bigger
• if a player is falling and the ball touches their hand/arm when it is between their body and the ground to support the body (but not extended to make the body bigger)
• If the goalkeeper attempts to ‘clear’ (release into play) a throw-in or deliberate kick from a team-mate but the ‘clearance’ fails, the goalkeeper can then handle the ball
Greater clarity is needed for handball, especially on those occasions when ‘nondeliberate’ handball is an offence. The re-wording follows a number of principles:
• football does not accept a goal being scored by a hand/arm (even if accidental)
• football expects a player to be penalised for handball if they gain possession/control of the ball from their hand/arm and gain a major advantage e.g. score or create a goal-scoring opportunity
• it is natural for a player to put their arm between their body and the ground for support when falling.
• having the hand/arm above shoulder height is rarely a ‘natural’ position and a player is ‘taking a risk’ by having the hand/arm in that position, including when sliding
• if the ball comes off the player’s body, or off another player (of either team) who is close by, onto the hands/arms it is often impossible to avoid contact with the ball
• When the GK clearly kicks or tries to kick the ball into play, this shows no intention to handle the ball so, if the ‘clearance’ attempt is unsuccessful, the goalkeeper can then handle the ball without committing an offence
The main changes are for the attacking team, where the slightest touch in even the most absurd situations will result in a free kick.
For defenders:
In Fifa's Laws of the Game 2005, Law 12 says a free-kick or penalty will be awarded if a player "handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)".
Page 67 of the document gives "additional information for referees, assistant referees and fourth officials".
It adds: "Referees are reminded that deliberately handling the ball is normally punished only by a direct free-kick or penalty kick if the offence occurred inside the penalty area.
"A caution or dismissal is not normally required."
However, the document fails to describe what constitutes deliberate handball, which places the responsibility firmly on the referee and referees' assistants.
Former Premier League referee David Elleray said the referee's interpretation depends on whether the hand or arm is in an "unnatural" position at the point of contact.
"Referees look at two specifics - did the hand or arm go towards the ball or in a manner which would block the ball,
or is the hand in a position where it would not normally be?" Elleray told BBC Sport.
"The challenging decisions are if the defending player spreads their arms to make themselves bigger.
"If the ball hits the arm then the referee must decide whether this action was to deliberately block the ball or whether the player has raised their arms to protect themselves - especially if the ball is hit at speed.
From 2013:
Regarding handball they now ask the referee to consider the proximity of the potential offender to the person last playing the ball, the speed of the ball and importantly whether the offender's arms are in a natural or unnatural position.
So the question of intent is now, did the offender deliberately place his arms in an unnatural position to increase the chances of the ball hitting him?
If the answer to that is yes then it is correct to penalise that player even though it used to be argued that was ball to hand.
Most people will see that the re-write just further clarifies what has always been the case, if anything the clarification of the rules give defenders more leeway, quite the opposite of what the likes of Ruck4444 thinks.
) 
