"Mozilla prides itself on being held to a different standard and, this past week, we didn't live up to it," Mozilla's executive chairwoman Mitchell Baker wrote. "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."
According to BBC, a newly promoted tech CEO Brendan Eich, who co-founded Mozilla and was also the creator of the JavaScript scripting language, made a $1,000 donation in 2008 in in support of Californian anti-gay marriage law Proposition 8.
Besides, Apple donated $100,000 to oppose the measure, and Google's founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, had also reportedly donated a combined $140,000 to fight the bill, Boston Globe reports.
Although it was initially passed, it was later overturned by the US Supreme Court in 2013.
Following the selection of Eich as CEO, multiple Mozilla employees publicly criticized the choice because of his support of Proposition 8. Half of Mozilla's board of directors resigned last week, though the company has said their departures were not related to Eich's donation.
But the most damaging act of protest came via dating website OkCupid. OKCupid users urged a boycott, calling on users of Mozilla's Firefox browser to switch to a different browser in protest. 12% of OkCupid's 3 billion monthly page views are accessed through Firefox, New York Daily News reports citing Mozilla's statement.
"Mozilla's new CEO, Brendan Eich, is an opponent of equal rights for gay couples. We would therefore prefer that our users not use Mozilla software to access OkCupid."
When asked Tuesday if he might resign, he said that would leave it up to the Mozilla board to decide.
"I serve at the pleasure of the board. I would have them ask me to step down," he said. "Until then I have to be CEO 100 percent."
Mozilla initially defended Mr Eich's appointment, but Ms Baker's blog post announcing the chief executive's departure made apologies for doing so. She added that any potential replacement for Mr Eich was still being discussed, and that more details would be announced next week.
Source: The Voice of Russia
