Facebook offers privacy controls but isn't taking down feed feature

After a flurry of online petitions complaining about a new newsfeed feature, Facebook backpeddled on its recent modifications, reports The Washington Post.

The original feature sent select information to a members buddies list in a headline-type news feed, such as personal information announcing that a relationship had ended and a member was single again. Now Facebook has provided an option to disable or modify feeds.

Facebook originally launched the newsfee

"We want people to know we messed up," Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chairman and chief executive, said yesterday.

The feature has not been completely withdrawn, however. Users will have more control over what type of information would be displayed on buddy pages.

"People's privacy and feeling like they have control over information is really important for the site," said Zuckerman.

After the news feed flap, Facebook is encouraging users to utilize privacy settings which can determine who views member's personal pages.

"We're making changes because we feel it's important to react to this quickly," Zuckerberg said. "But we think it's a good product, and we're not taking it down."