Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp struck by service disruption: monitor

A major outage struck Facebook and its Instagram and WhatsApp services on Monday, possibly affecting tens of millions of users as the social media company deals with backlash over its influence on teenagers and disinformation.

Outages were detected in densely populated locations such as Washington and Paris as early as 1545 GMT, according to tracker Downdetector.

On Twitter, Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone stated, “We’re aware that some users are experiencing difficulty accessing our applications and products.”

Users in the impacted regions who attempted to access Facebook were greeted with the following message: “Something didn’t work out. We’re working on it and will solve it as soon as possible.”

The interruption comes a day after a whistleblower revealed her name on US television after leaking a trove of papers to authorities claiming the business knew its products were fueling hatred and hurting children’s mental health.

Frances Haugen, a 37-year-old data scientist from Iowa, has worked for businesses like as Google and Pinterest, but she told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that Facebook was “significantly worse” than anything she had seen previously.

The world’s biggest social networking site has been engulfed in a tempest sparked by Haugen, with US legislators and The Wall Street Journal slamming the platform.

“I believe that politicians, including the White House and other leaders, can finally look at someone like Frances Haugen and say, ‘It’s now incumbent upon us, Facebook will not repair itself,'” said Nora Benavidez, a Facebook accountability specialist.

Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of policy and global affairs, strongly denied that its platforms are “poison” for teenagers, only days after a heated, hours-long congressional session in which US legislators questioned the firm on its effect on young users’ mental health.

The whistleblower, Haugen, is scheduled to speak on Capitol Hill on Tuesday about Facebook and Instagram’s effect on young people.

Senators grilled Facebook’s Antigone Davis last week over damaging allegations that the social media giant’s own research warned of possible damage.

According to Davis, a study of adolescents on 12 significant problems such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders revealed that Instagram was usually beneficial to them.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, on the other hand, read aloud from corporate papers that he said were given to legislators by a Facebook whistleblower and directly contradicted her.

“Substantial evidence indicates that experiences on Instagram and Facebook exacerbate body dissatisfaction,” he added, adding that the conclusion was based on business research rather than a dissatisfied employee’s complaint.

The company has been under constant pressure to avoid becoming a platform for the propagation of disinformation, hatred, and child-harming material.

Legislators have battled to adopt new regulations that would modernize internet safeguards under legislation enacted decades ago, before social media existed.