In an internal memo leaked to The Verge, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo took responsibility for the social platform’s rampant problem with trolls and cyberbullying. Check out the latest social network-related jobs. “We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we’ve sucked at it for years,” he wrote in the memo, dated Feb. 2. “It’s no secret and the rest of the world talks about it every day. We lose core user after core user by not addressing simple trolling issues that they face every day.” Costolo then engaged in a bit of self-flagellation:

“I’m frankly ashamed of how poorly we’ve dealt with this issue during my tenure as CEO. It’s absurd. There’s no excuse for it. I take full responsibility for not being more aggressive on this front. It’s nobody else’s fault but mine, and it’s embarrassing.”

Although Costolo takes personal responsibility for Twitter’s trolling issue, it remains to be seen how the social network will protect users while maintaining its longtime dedication to freedom of expression. Streamlining the platform’s abuse-reporting mechanisms could help, as could expanding the number of employees who monitor for trolls.

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