Facebook's Privacy Settings Still Ignored by Many [REPORT]

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One of the most interesting elements of the survey was just how many users are unaware -- or don't care -- about privacy settings when it comes to social networks.

Consumer Reports says that one in four households with a Facebook account have users who aren't aware of or don't choose to use Facebook's built-in privacy controls. While that may give some credence to Mark Zuckerberg's "privacy is dead" declaration, it still makes us pause, especially when you consider how basic information used on Facebook -- like your full name and birthday -- can be utilized in identity theft.

Another interesting tidbit from the survey -- 26% of parents on Facebook posted the names and photos of their children. Now, this may be innocuous, but we have to ask: How many parents understand that unless they have that information restricted to certain user groups that it is really public information?

That's actually one of the more interesting aspects of Facebook's new Open Graph; it isn't that Open Graph necessarily has any different privacy implications, it's just more evident how public many of Facebook's settings really are.

In addition to releasing the report, Consumer Reports hosted a panel in New York today about social networks and consumer behavior. Mashable's Adam Ostrow was one of the panelists. You can watch the entire conversation below.

What do you think of the way that consumers are using social networks? Let us know in the comments.

image courtesy of iStockphoto, wakila