CEO of Firefox developer Mozilla steps down

Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich will step down following uproar over his apparent opposition to gay marriage.

The controversy surrounds a 2008 donation supporting California's ban on gay marriage. Among those angered was online dating site OKCupid, which urged a boycott, calling on users of Mozilla's Firefox browser to switch to a different browser in protest, according to USA Today.

Mozilla released a statement Thursday, apologizing for not reacting more quickly to the controversy surrounding Eich.

"We know why people are hurt and angry, and they are right: it's because we haven't stayed true to ourselves," Mozilla executive chairwoman Mitchell Baker said in a statement. "We have employees with a wide diversity of views. Our culture of openness extends to encouraging staff and community to share their beliefs and opinions in public. This is meant to distinguish Mozilla from most organizations and hold us to a higher standard. But this time we failed to listen, to engage and to be guided by our community."

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