Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp restored after hours-long blackout
Al JazeeraFacebook, Instagram and the widely-used WhatsApp messaging service are gradually returning to normal after an hours-long global outage that disabled the Facebook-owned social media platforms for some six hours. “To the huge community of people and businesses around the world who depend on us: we’re sorry,” Facebook said. “We’ve been working hard to restore access to our apps and services and are happy to report they are coming back online now.” Outage tracking website Downdetector.com said it had received 10.6 million reports of problems ranging from the United States and Europe to Colombia and Singapore, with trouble first appearing at about 15:45 GMT. “We care deeply about the safety and security of the people on our platform,” Facebook’s Head of Global Security, Antigone Davis, said during a Senate subcommittee hearing last week. “We have put in place multiple protections to create safe and age-appropriate experiences for people between the ages of 13 and 17.” On Tuesday, former Facebook employee Frances Haugen will testify at another hearing of the Senate Commerce subcommittee about Facebook and Instagram’s impacts on young users.