Facebook's wise privacy move

[Commentary] By deciding to let users control more of their personal information, Facebook vented pressure building up in Washington to get lawmakers involved. That's a relief not just to Facebook users but everyone on the Web.

It's one thing for the Federal Trade Commission to hold companies to the promises they make to their users; it's another for lawmakers to try to design privacy policies for sites whose technical capabilities are constantly advancing, along with their users' demand for services and attitudes about privacy. Facebook triggered outrage when it started sending users' updates automatically to all of their friends. Now that kind of "news feed" is a central feature of just about every social network. What looks like a threat today may prove to be an asset tomorrow. There may come a day when Washington has to craft new rules to stop websites from preying on defenseless users, but we're not there yet.