Facebook Wins Appeal About How It Tracks Nonmembers

— -- Facebook has won the latest round in a battle with a Belgian privacy watchdog group about how the social network tracks nonusers who visit publicly available Facebook pages.

At issue is Facebook's datr cookie. (A cookie is a piece of code that is downloaded onto your computer when you visit certain sites and stores user information, such as passwords, preferences and browsing history.) The social network said the cookies help keep Facebook secure and that any user data was discarded after 10 days, while the Belgian Privacy Commission, which initially won the case last November, said using the cookie was a violation of Belgian internet users' privacy.

The ruling carried a 250,000 euro per day fine if Facebook did not comply, prompting the social network to block nonmembers in Belgium from seeing public Facebook pages.

The court overturned the earlier decision on Wednesday after siding with Facebook's argument that the case was out of Belgium's jurisdiction because Facebook's European headquarters are in Dublin.

"Today's decision means simply that the Belgian citizen cannot obtain privacy protection when it concerns foreign players. The citizen is thus exposed to massive violations of privacy," Willem Debeuckelaere, the president of the Belgium privacy commission, said in a statement, according to the BBC.

The group said it plans to explore a final appeal with the Court of Cassation, which has the power to nullify judgments but can't hand down new ones.

A Facebook representative told ABC News in an email, "We are pleased with the court's decision and look forward to bringing all our services back online for people in Belgium."