Brendan Eich has stepped down as CEO of Mozilla, barely a week after being named to the position. His decision follows an online campaign against him, opposing a donation he made to a campaign against gay marriage. This was during 2008, when California, where Mozilla is based, voted in a referendum over whether to ban same-sex marriage.
Eich had argued that his personal beliefs should not exclude him from the position. Mozilla said the past week at the company had been "painful", and the group found it difficult to defend the two ideals of freedom of speech and equality at the same time. In the end it sided with the views of the majority of its employees and the principle of equality.
Mozilla is still discussing Eich's replacement and said it plans to announce more in the coming week. Following Eich's appointment, three board members also left the company, having previously pushed for an outsider in the job.
