Facebook has moved back proposed changes to its policies that critics charged would allow the company to use the names and images of its users to endorse products in ads without their consent. Six consumer watchdog groups have asked the Federal Trade Commission to block the changes.

"We are taking the time to ensure that user comments are reviewed and taken into consideration to determine whether further updates are necessary and we expect to finalize the process in the coming week," Facebook said in a statement.

Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, said Facebook had to delay the update.

"Facebook is being forced to justify its latest grab of user data to D.C. regulators," Chester said.

Facebook claims that it is not changing its policies, just clarifying the language in them.

The new language says users automatically give Facebook the right to use their information unless they specifically deny the company permission to do it.