The social networking site that now has more than 750 million active accounts plans to increase the amount of choices its users have for who sees their information - status updates, photographs and 'Likes'.
It will also increase users' control over photo tagging, giving people the choice to refuse to be identified in others' photos.
However, at the same time, the site will be relaxing other restrictions, allowing anyone to tag anyone else in a photo, even if they are not connected on the network. Previously, only 'friends' on the site have been able to do this.
The privacy controls should be 'a win for all Facebook users,' PC World quoted Sean Sullivan, security advisor at F-Secure as saying, but there was a risk they would complicate things rather than simplifying them, he added.
"We're announcing a bunch of improvements that make it easier to share posts, photos, tags and other content with exactly the people you want," Facebook's Chris Cox said in a blog post.
"You have told us that 'who can see this?' could be clearer across Facebook, so we have made changes to make this more visual and straightforward," he continued.
"Taken together, we hope these new tools make it easier to share with exactly who you want, and that the resulting experience is a lot clearer and a lot more fun," he added.
SHARING TOO MUCH
But UNSW Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre head David Vaile says the social networking giant has not gone nearly far enough.
"They're giving with one hand and taking away with the other," he says.
Vaile has serious misgivings about Facebook's attitude toward the privacy of its users, comparing it to a 'teenage brat' trying to 'get away' with as much as possible without being caught.
Facebook encourages users to share eveything about themselves, without giving any thought to protecting vulnerable groups - such as children, he says.
It has been allowing third parties - like marketing companies and - increasing access to private information since its inception in 2005, according to an info-graphic published on the CLAPC website.
On a scale of computing companies most- to least-concerned about their users' security, Vaile rates IBM as the 'most mature', holding itself to the regulations of the most stringent organisations worldwide (in most cases those of the European Union).
Microsoft is next, according to Vaile, having toned down its once-adventurous approach in order to comply with US anti-trust laws.
Then comes Google, Facebook's 'slightly older and more responsible sibling'. After sparking outrage with invasions of privacy such as IP tracking and the Google StreetView car, it has more or less learned from its mistakes.
"The real issue is with Facebook, which is like a sort of naughty teenager saying 'catch me if you can, if I can get away with it then it must be ok," he says.
"If you're encouraging permanent, global publication of sensitive personal information ... then that's actually pretty dangerous."
"You have to encourage people to be aware of the downsides of what they're doing," Vaile stresses.
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