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If you’ve received a notice that your social networking site has changed its privacy policy, it’s up to you to read through the new policy closely and find out what changes have been made.

Facebook has recently come under fire for frequent changes to its privacy policy. Updates have included sharing members’ information with advertisers and sharing members’ online purchase information with others in their network. Google’s social networking tool, Buzz, was also criticized when it shared information from individuals’ email contacts.

It’s important to read the network’s privacy policy closely, because in many cases, these changes allow you to opt out of the new development. That often means you need to take action yourself.

If you don’t agree with the changes in the policy and no options are provided to allow you to set your own preferences, contact the company with a complaint. In the case of Google Buzz, enough complaints were registered that the company made changes to the information it distributed from its members. But not all companies will react as quickly. If you aren’t comfortable with the way the company is sharing your information, or it’s enacted other privacy policy changes you don’t agree with, simply stop using the network.

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