Facebook bests German watchdog in court tiff over real names

After a German privacy watchdog ordered Facebook to allow the use of fake usernames "immediately," an appeals court has said nein. While the protection body in the tiny state of Schleswig-Holstein argued that Facebook's ban on pseudonyms breached the nation's privacy laws, an administrative court in the region ruled that those laws don't apply to the company, since its European HQ is located in less-stringent Ireland. Facebook argued that requiring the use of real names protects its users, but the regulator said it'll appeal the decision all the same -- thus prolonging the social network's long-running German headache.

Filed under: Internet, Facebook

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Via: Techmeme

Source: Associated Press