The announcement will be at 1 pm today (ET).  Apparently, the backlash has been too great, and Facebook is going to fix it for the better:

(CNN) — Facebook, in a rare move, is expected to reverse itself Wednesday on changes to privacy settings after sustained backlash from users worried about how their private information is being used.

The announcement, expected shortly after 1 p.m. ET, marks a rare double-back for Facebook, the nearly ubiquitous networking site that has made a habit of rolling out changes, then weathering user grumbling until it subsides.

"I can confirm that our new, simpler user controls will begin rolling out tomorrow. I can't say more yet," Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes told CNN in an e-mail Tuesday.

Among other changes, the site implemented a new tool last month that spreads user preferences and data across the Web. The tool allows Facebook users to more easily share articles and other Web pages they like, but at the same time makes those picks easier for others to see.

Some Facebook members also have been vocally opposed to changes that switched default settings to public.

The Web information-sharing function requires users to sign up for it. And privacy settings can be reset. But the current setup of about 170 settings requires negotiating what The New York Times called "a bewildering tangle of options" to make the switch.

Wednesday's announcement presumably will address what Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged have been missteps with the recent changes.