“Our philosophy is that people own their information and control who they share it with,” Zuckerberg said yesterday in a posting on Facebooks blog. “We wouldnt share your information in a way you wouldnt want.”

Criticism circulated on the Internet over the weekend that the most popular social-networking Web site increased its control over members information, even after subscribers close their accounts. The controversy highlights the challenges facing Palo Alto, California-based Facebook in communicating how it handles users data as people increasingly share information about themselves online.

The Consumerist blog warned users to avoid uploading information “you dont feel comfortable giving away forever.” In response, Zuckerberg said Facebook needs to keep certain information for services such as the sites messaging feature.

Zuckerberg said Facebook needs users to grant the site permission before revealing personal information to others. When users send notes to their friends, a copy of the message will still be in the recipients inbox, even if the sender deactivates their account, Zuckerberg said.

“We are not claiming and have never claimed ownership of material that users upload,” Facebook said in a separate statement. The company said it also respects users requests when they ask for information to only be shared with specific people.

Facebook, which says it has more than 175 million active users, has faced privacy concerns before. In 2007, Zuckerberg apologized after users complained that an advertising program called Beacon violated their privacy by tracking what users bought online and shared the information with their friends. Facebook gave members the option to turn the program off, preventing the site from storing data on their shopping habits.

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