Facebook, Instagram down for users, sparks global outage

Meta Platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, faced widespread outages on Wednesday, impacting users across various regions, notably in New York, California, and India. Reports of disruptions began surfacing on Downdetector around 7 pm (EST), with additional issues on Threads emerging after 8 pm (EST).

Many users took to social media platform X to voice their frustrations, with Instagram users encountering a message that read, "Something went wrong." The extent of the outages remains unclear, though user reports indicate a significant number of people were affected.

Meta's Director of Communications, Andy Stone, acknowledged the issue and extended an apology for the inconvenience, noting that efforts were underway to resolve the server-related problems swiftly.

This incident follows a similar outage on March 5, when Meta experienced another significant disruption. On that occasion, the issue was resolved within a few hours.

Simultaneously, Meta is under scrutiny by the European Union for potential violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The EU's investigations focus on allegations that Meta failed to implement adequate safeguards against foreign disinformation ahead of upcoming elections. The DSA, designed to protect internet users and enhance social media accountability, could impose penalties of up to 6% of Meta's annual revenue if non-compliance is confirmed.

As Meta works to restore full functionality to its platforms, users globally await updates on the resolution of the ongoing outages.