Mozilla Corporation Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Brendan Eich has resigned from the office, the software company formally announced on Thursday. This move by Eich came less than two weeks after he was appointed as Mozilla CEO, and days after a dating site slammed Mozilla for appointing him and stating that their members will boycott the web browser.
“We know why people are hurt and angry, and they are right: it’s because we haven’t stayed true to ourselves. 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,” Mozilla executive chairwoman Mitchell Baker said in a company blog post.
“Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech. Equality is necessary for meaningful speech. And you need free speech to fight for equality. Figuring out how to stand for both at the same time can be hard… Mozilla supports equality for all,” Baker added, noting that Eich decided to step down for Mozilla and its community.
The controversy started back in 2008, when Eich supported California Prop 8, an anti-gay marriage legalization campaign in the said state. He was said to have donated $1,000. The act was first publicized in March 2012 and became a hot topic in social media and LGBT community. It was raised again recently when Eich became Mozilla CEO, with some company employees asking him to resign.
Upon his appointment, Eich wrote in a blog post that he is committed to equality and is willing to work with the LGBT. Last week OkCupid.com posted a message on the homepage. All site visitors were invited to use the competitors of Mozilla Firefox. This includes Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari. “Mozilla’s new CEO, Brendan Eich, is an opponent of equal rights for gay couples,” the message said.
As an immediate response, Mozilla wrote a blog post titled “Mozilla Supports LGBT Equality,” saying that the company supports equality for all, including same sex marriage. The company then acknowledged the fact that Eich’s appointment as CEO is being questioned.
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