Four senators are concerned that Facebook Inc. doesn't do enough to give its users easier ways to protect their privacy online.

 

On Monday, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., asked the Federal Trade Commission to examine Facebook's latest moves to increase its social-networking presence across the Web and to issue privacy guidelines that would ensure that all social media companies protect their users' privacy.

 

On Tuesday, three more senators joined Schumer in a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.; Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; and Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, asked Facebook to take "swift and productive steps to alleviate the concerns of its users."

 

"While Facebook provides a valuable service to users by keeping them connected with friends and family and reconnecting them with long-lost friends and colleagues, the expansion of Facebook - both in the number of users and applications - raises new concerns for users who want to maintain control over their information," the letter said.

 

The senators also ask Facebook to reverse a change that allows third-party advertisers the ability to store profile data indefinitely instead of just for 24 hours. Facebook officials said last week that change was needed to make the platform run more smoothly for third-party developers.