Newly appointed Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich has chosen to step down from his post amid controversy over his stance on same-sex marriage.
In a blog post on the company’s website, Mithcell Baker, chairperson of the Mozilla Foundation and former CEO of the Mozilla Corporation, admitted the company had not lived up to its core values.
“We know why people are hurt and angry, and they are right: it’s because we haven’t stayed true to ourselves,” Baker wrote. “We didn’t act like you’d expect Mozilla to act. We didn’t move fast enough to engage with people once the controversy started. We’re sorry. We must do better.”
Baker said Mozilla is still discussing what’s next for its leadership but promised more information next week.
“Our mission will always be to make the Web more open so that humanity is stronger, more inclusive and more just: that’s what it means to protect the open Web,” she wrote.
Eich last month was promoted from Chief Technology Officer to the company’s CEO. Eich wasn’t installed long when controversy arose over a $1,000 donation Eich gave to a campaign supporting California’s Porposition 8, an amendment to California’s constitution that aimed to ban same-sex marriage.
While Proposition 8 did pass, it was eventually struck down in 2008.
