Faceboo plans to soon simplify its privacy tools. The disclosure, which came in an opinion piece by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is the company's first direct response to increased concerns about its privacy policy and the personal information of its nearly 500 million users.

 

Facebook has been on a relentless quest this year to convert the vast mountains of data of its users into advertising revenue. And each time it does, it faces criticism. The latest flap came in April, when Facebook announced new features that send user profile information in bulk to companies such as Microsoft, Yelp and Pandora. That prompted four U.S. senators - led by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. - to demand Facebook pass along data only if users agree to it.

 

"There needs to be a simpler way to control your information," Zuckerberg said in the opinion piece, which ran in Monday's Washington Post. "In the coming weeks, we will add privacy controls that are much simpler to use. We will also give you an easy way to turn off all (non-Facebook) services."

 

Zuckerberg disputed the notion that Facebook is fast and loose with data on its users' profile pages. "We do not give advertisers access to your personal information," he wrote.