Facebook doesn't have to allow nicknames on its platform for now, a German court ruled.

The social network won a court battle against a German privacy watchdog that challenged the social networking site's policy requiring users to register with their real names.

The regulator that ordered Facebook to change it policy based its orders on inapplicable German law, the court in northern German Schleswig ruled.

Schleswig's state's data protection body said Friday it will appeal the court decision. It argues the ban on fake names breaches German privacy laws and European rules designed to protect free speech online.

Facebook argues its real name policy protects users.