David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News 
 
 to add Facebook’s comment. 
 
 Facebook may be getting a little push back from its users. 
 
 A new study by Consumer Reports asked what steps Facebook users in the United States were taking to “protect your privacy.” The answers were surprising. About a fourth of respondents said they lied: They chose to “alter personally identifiable information” such as their dates of birth. 
 
 The share of Facebook users who confessed to falsifying information, which technically violates Facebook’s terms of service, was a notable increase — about double — from when the same question was posed two years ago. That suggests a heightened level of vigilance not only about how much Facebook users wish to reveal to the world, but also how much they wish to reveal to Facebook, the omniscient observer. Consumer Reports, in its June 2012 issue, described it as “evidence that people are treating Facebook more warily.” 
 
 A majority of those who were asked what steps they took to protect their privacy said they tweaked their privacy settings to control who can access their profile page. And about a third of the respondents said they adjusted settings to make sure their personal information wasn’t leaking out to Facebook applications, like games. Nearly one in five said they did none of these things. 
 
 Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of the organization that publishes Consumer Reports magazine, has rolled out a petition urging Facebook to improve privacy controls and address user concerns about what information from Facebook can be shared with third parties. 
 
 Responding to the survey, Facebook issued this statement: “We believe more than 900 million consumers have voluntarily decided to share and connect on Facebook because we provide them options and tools that place them in control of their information and experience. As part of our effort to empower and educate consumers, we always welcome constructive conversations about online privacy and safety.” 
 
 Facebook has repeatedly said that user information belongs to the user, and that the user is entitled to demand a copy of his or her Facebook data. But the vast trove of personal data that Facebook accrues daily can also be leveraged by others. 
 
 Facebook applications can glean information not only about the Facebook user who downloads the application, but also about his or her Facebook friends – unless a user explicitly opts out. And every time a user visits a web site with a Facebook widget – a “like” button, for instance – Facebook finds out. It becomes part of the company’s data vault about each of its 900 million users. 
 
 In its study, Consumer Reports, the magazine once known for its reviews of dishwashers and station wagons, found that Facebook users revealed a great deal about themselves that could one day be detrimental. That information included posts that identified family members and chronicled their alcohol use. The ubiquitous “like” button signaled a vast array of preferences, from religious to sexual. More than one in four, the magazine reported, shared all of almost all of their wall posts with an audience beyond their Facebook friends. 
 
 Consumer Reports offered a box of tips for the Facebook-verbose. “Think before you type,” was number one. “Deactivate,” was number nine. ||||| Children under 13 aren’t supposed to use Facebook. We project from our survey that the company closed about 800,000 such accounts in the last year. 
 
 But some 5.6 million underage kids still have accounts, our survey suggests. And 800,000 minors were harassed or subjected to other forms of cyberbullying on Facebook. 
 
 Our survey also shows that most parents who knew their preteen used Facebook had not discussed online threats with them or “friended” them, while up to a third did nothing to keep up with their children’s Facebook activities. 
 
 Targets: 11- to 13-year-olds. The least vigilant parents in our survey were those with children under 13 on Facebook. “The kids most often targeted are 11- to 13-year-olds, because they’re more naive and less likely to tell an adult about it,” says Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. Its Child Predator Unit recently charged William Ainsworth, 53, with using phony Facebook identities to lure hundreds of girls as young as 11, whose profiles revealed that they were vulnerable because of trouble at home or school. Ainsworth allegedly solicited nude photos from some and arranged to meet for sex. He has pleaded not guilty. 
 
 Investigators interviewed more than 30 girls; almost all said they were using Facebook with little or no parental knowledge when they communicated with the predator. Most used cell phones or other mobile devices, making supervision difficult. 
 
 An elusive solution. The Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) prohibits sites from collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from preteens without parental consent. The Federal Trade Commission proposed changes last year for children who use child-oriented sites, which include improving methods for securing parents’ permission. Final recommendations are expected by year’s end. 
 
 But the new rules wouldn’t require sites with a more diverse audience, such as Facebook, to try to verify the age of someone who opens an account. 
 
 In a recent study published by the University of Illinois at Chicago, more than 80 percent of parents said they’d known when their underage child had signed up for Facebook. The study implied that one strong privacy standard for adults and children would be better than two, since with two policies kids may pretend to be older than they are. 
 
 Jeff Chester, a child-privacy advocate who led the campaign to enact COPPA, wants the FTC and Congress to consider a different option. He thinks Facebook should create a section for children under 13 and require opt-in parental permission, as COPPA requires. 
 
 We asked Facebook for its views about such an option. “We see ourselves as innovators, and believe it is time to focus on how to keep kids safe online and on Facebook, rather than on how to keep them off,” a spokesman replied in an e-mail. 
 
 
 
 What you can do. If your young teenager wants to join Facebook, insist that he or she “friend” you, says Colleen Cronin of East Hampton, Conn., who interceded when she found evidence of bullying among children in her son Cameron's Facebook network. Monitor kids’ activity. Make sure that they really know their “friends” and that they set the audience for all wall postings to “friends” only. ||||| Welcome to Consumer Reports Advocacy 
 
 Consumer Reports is an independent nonprofit organization that works for a fair, safe and transparent marketplace. 
 
 Since we were founded as Consumers Union in 1936, we have advocated for the rights of all consumers. Now, we are united under the Consumer Reports name, bringing together our trusted testing, research, journalism, and advocacy. 
 
 We hope you will partner with us and our six million members for a better world.
– How to protect your privacy on Facebook? For an increasing number of users, the answer is simple: Lie. A quarter of respondents in a new Consumer Reports study admitted that they “alter personally identifiable information,” such as birthdate, on Facebook. Technically, that’s a violation of the social networking site’s Terms of Service, the New York Times points out. And more than twice as many people are doing it now as were two years ago, when the same question was asked. Most of those surveyed said they protected their privacy by adjusting various settings, while almost 20% said they didn’t do anything to protect their privacy. Consumer Reports says the increase in people who lie is proof that users are becoming more wary of Facebook, and the organization’s advocacy arm is urging Facebook, via a petition, to strengthen its privacy controls. The Consumer Reports study also found that a large number of Facebook users revealed information on the site that could hurt them, including their whereabouts on a particular day or health information.