With the shift, Facebook will operate more like such rivals as Twitter Inc. that let teens share publicly. Twitter, unlike Facebook, also lets users post anonymously or with pseudonyms.
Analysts said Facebook risks losing the next generation of young users if it doesn't keep pace with competitors. But some privacy advocates are more concerned about public posts on Facebook than on other sites because of its vast reach. It has 1.2 billion users world-wide, roughly five times as many as Twitter. Facebook also allows users to post a wider range of media and to comment more broadly than Twitter does.
"This is about monetizing kids and teens," said James Steyer, founder and chief executive of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit devoted to online privacy.
Aaron Everson, president of Shoutlet, a Madison, Wis., company that helps brands manage social-media campaigns, said Facebook wants to "compete against other networks that might have a younger demographic, and potentially help them reel in more advertisers." Marketers will have to be creative in grabbing the Web-savvy teen's attention without alienating parents, he added.
The change also comes amid growing concern about online bullying and safety for children and teenagers. California Gov. Jerry Brown last month signed a law, backed by Mr. Steyer, requiring Internet services to allow minors to delete online posts.
Last month, several groups asked the Federal Trade Commission to block an earlier Facebook policy that would allow wider marketing to teens. The groups called that policy an "aggressive mix of data collection, profiling and tracking."
Nicky Colaco, Facebook's manager of privacy and public policy, said that executives deliberated carefully before making Wednesday's change but concluded that "teens do deserve to have a very deliberate and public voice."
As a precaution, she said, Facebook has added a pop-up warning before teens can post anything publicly, telling them, essentially, that "public really means public." Facebook Wednesday also changed the default settings for teen posts so they can be seen only by "friends" rather than "friends of friends." Teens can still adjust the setting.
Ms. Colaco said Facebook has taken other steps to protect teens, including placing limits on marketing for alcohol, gambling and dieting. It also attempts to ferret out kids who lie about their age to get around teen privacy policies.
The new policy, Ms. Colaco said, emerged after numerous meetings with teenagers who urged the company to let them post publicly so that they could use Facebook for fundraisers and political advocacy, as well as to promote extracurricular activities like bands and sports.
Ms. Colaco said that Facebook executives discussed the idea with its Safety Advisory Board, which includes representatives of five nonprofit groups that focus on Internet safety. She said board members concluded that allowing public posts would be empowering for teens, outweighing potential concerns.
Stephen Balkam, chief executive of the Family Online Safety Institute, one of the groups on Facebook's advisory board, said he supported the change. "You could almost argue Facebook has overdone the safety side of it," he said. "A lot of teenagers are leaving because of that."
Mr. Balkam also said that his group accepts some funding from Facebook but that he hasn't been afraid to criticize the social network when he disagrees with its policies.
A Facebook spokeswoman said in an email Thursday that the company does "offer financial support" to its advisory board members. "This is an important way for us to help them further their education and outreach efforts," she said.
Lizzie Deane, a 16-year-old student in Manchester, England, and a vocal advocate of teen access to social media, supports the change.
It's important to educate teenagers about the pitfalls of posting publicly, she said. But "I can't see a really valid reason for us not being able to do that," she added. "We should have as much of a voice as adults."
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