Brendan Eich Resigns As Mozilla CEO Following Criticism Of His Support For Prop 8

Recent Mozilla CEO pick Brendan Eich is no longer CEO, according to a new blog post from Mozilla itself (via Re/code). The post, penned by Mozilla’s Executive Chairwoman Mitchell Baker, explains that the company felt it didn’t “move fast enough” to properly address the issues the community had with Eich as they arose, and resolved to “do better.” Eich stepping down is described as his own decision, in order to help Mozilla and its community.

Baker’s blog post goes on to reaffirm Mozilla’s commitment to both equality and free speech, and doesn’t do much in the way of finger-pointing or blaming Eich for the controversy. Instead, it centers on the lesson that the Web needs protection for continued openness of conversation. From the post, detailing next steps:

What’s next for Mozilla’s leadership is still being discussed. We want to be open about where we are in deciding the future of the organization and will have more information next week. However, 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.

Re/code adds that Eich will also step down from the Mozilla Foundation’s board as a result of the changes. Pressure had been put on Mozilla to reverse the decision to install Eich as CEO since a donation worth $1,000, for the 2010 California Proposition 8 legislation repealing gay marriage was made public. Employees within Mozilla were among those who opposed his new role, and OkCupid mounted a very public campaign on its site earlier this week to voice its collective disapproval of Eich and his stance. Mozilla had previously issued a blog post stating for the record that as an organization, it stands in support of LGBT equality.

Eich had not done much to really distance himself from his past views on gay marriage and LGBT issues, which likely didn’t help his chances of sticking it out at Mozilla. The maker of Firefox prides itself on embracing diversity and equality, so keeping Eich in the CEO spot without a clear and unambiguous rejection of his earlier expressed viewpoint on Prop 8 would’ve stood out as fundamentally contradictory.

GLAAD provided the following statement from President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis on the news via email:

Mozilla’s strong statement in favor of equality today reflects where corporate America is: inclusive, safe, and welcoming to all.