Facebook Chief: We're Not the Only Ones Spying On You

The complaint that Facebook prioritizes its own revenue targets above user security is hardly new.

However, there is something fresh about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's recent attempt to distract users by pointing a finger at other tech companies -- most notably Microsoft, Google and Yahoo -- accusing them of being far less privacy conscious than Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg, the 27-year-old billionaire founder and CEO of Facebook, recently appeared on the Charlie Rose TV show to discuss his company's growth and, as usual, ongoing concerns with the way the site handles the personal information of its many, many users. (Source: nwsource.com)

Zuckerberg: Facebook is More Vigilant About Privacy than Search Giants

Alongside Zuckerberg for the interview was Facebook chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg.

When asked about privacy issues, Zuckerberg suggest that his company was actually far more vigilant in protecting users than Microsoft, Yahoo and Google.

"If you look at companies, whether it's Google or Yahoo! or Microsoft, that have search engines and ad networks, they also have a huge amount of information about you," Zuckerberg said.

"It's just that they're collecting [the information] about you behind your back... they're collecting this huge amount of information about who you are. But you never know that." (Source: dailymail.co.uk)

Zuckerberg suggested that the only reason Facebook has faced such intense criticism over its privacy policy is because his site was up front about the user data it acquires and, in some cases, passes on to third parties.

The implication was that Google, Yahoo and Microsoft do the same thing but simply don't talk about it -- saving them from the sting of public criticism but leaving users more vulnerable to attack in the end.

Facebook Gives Users Control of Information

Zuckerberg also said that Facebook gives its users a lot of control over which information can be shared, whereas other prominent tech companies don't provide that option.

"People have little or no control over the information that a company like Google or Yahoo! or Microsoft has about you," Zuckerberg said.

Unsurprisingly, Sandberg took a similar position.

"I think that these companies with those big ad networks are basically getting away with collecting huge amounts of information, likely way more information than people are sharing on Facebook about themselves," she added.