Facebook hits back at criticisms of privacy changes

FACEBOOK has hit back at criticisms of changes made to its privacy settings earlier this week.

The changes, which were implemented on Wednesday, allow users to apply more specific privacy settings to the content they post on the site. However, many of the default settings mean that unless users follow a prompt to go in and change their settings, they will end up sharing much of their information with everyone on the internet.

Privacy groups in the US have hit out at the move, claiming Facebook has pushed its members to downgrade their privacy settings under the banner of simplification. Facebook first announced the changes in July, while chief executive Mark Zuckerberg reiterated them in an open letter to users last week. Facebook has 350 million users worldwide with more than one million Irish members. Speaking on RTÉ radio yesterday, head of public policy and privacy for Facebook in Europe Richard Allan said the changes were offering people a choice as to what information they wanted to share.