Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram are back online after a nearly six-hour outage on Monday, affecting millions of users worldwide. The social media giant attributed the disruption to an internal technical issue, which also impacted employees' work passes and email systems.
The services went down around 16:00 GMT and were restored by approximately 22:00 GMT. Facebook stated there was no evidence that user data was compromised during the outage. The company said a faulty configuration change affected internal tools and systems, complicating efforts to resolve the problem.
Downdetector reported about 10.6 million problem reports globally, though the actual number of affected users is likely much higher given that over 3.5 billion people use Facebook's platforms. Many users were cut off from communication with family and friends, while small businesses relying on social media faced potential financial losses.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg apologised for the outage, which reportedly cost him an estimated $6 billion (£4.4 billion) as shares plummeted. The outage also affected Oculus virtual reality headsets and apps requiring Facebook logins, such as Pokémon Go.
This incident occurred the day after former Facebook employee Frances Haugen leaked internal documents, alleging the company prioritised growth over safety. Haugen is set to testify before a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday regarding Instagram's impact on young users' mental health.
