Facebook CEO Zuckerberg announces privacy changes

Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced a series of changes Wednesday in response to a slew of criticism over the site's privacy controls.

During a conference call Wednesday afternoon, Zuckerberg outlined a number of tweaks aimed at simplifying the process of protecting user information. Zuckerberg said the changes were driven by user feedback that the existing controls were too complex. He acknowledged meeting with lawmakers and privacy advocates to collect their input.

"The number one thing we’ve heard, through all these changes is that the settings were too complex and it was hard for people to use them and effectively control information," Zuckerberg said, adding that it was in the company's interests to give users complete control over sharing their information. "Our incentive is completely the opposite — of making information open, just to make it open."

Zuckerberg admitted the site's granular privacy controls became a barrier to some users who didn't feel comfortable sharing their information without knowing who would be able to view it. Now it will be much easier for users to control who can see their profiles. Facebook is also making changes to how much information is displayed in search results and making it easier for users to filter out third-party applications.

But Zuckerberg said users have indicated they don't want all information kept as private as possible, citing the many users that use the site to share their information daily. While he acknowledged the importance of privacy, he didn't apologize for continuing to propel the trend towards making more information public.

"I think there's a balance. More and more people want to share information, so as long as they have good controls over that, I think that's really where the world is going," he said.

He also indicated that while criticism of Facebook has been more vocal in recent years, it's partly because the site has millions more users than previously. So, according to Zuckerberg, even a tiny percentage of dissatisfied users can result in a sizable and vocal opposition.