عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Technology

Twitter Outages Hit Thousands of Users Worldwide

A Twitter outage hit thousands of users worldwide. Samuel CORUM / AFP
A Twitter outage hit thousands of users worldwide. Samuel CORUM / AFP
TT
TT

Twitter Outages Hit Thousands of Users Worldwide

A Twitter outage hit thousands of users worldwide. Samuel CORUM / AFP
A Twitter outage hit thousands of users worldwide. Samuel CORUM / AFP

Twitter users around the world reported errors accessing it for several hours, web monitors said Wednesday, in one of the biggest outages since Elon Musk bought the platform.

Twitter has been riven by chaos since the controversial billionaire completed his $44 billion acquisition in October and quickly moved to cut costs, AFP said.

Thousands of employees -- including engineers -- have since been fired or quit, raising concerns about Twitter's ability to quickly fix outages and technical problems.

DownDetector reported a spike in issues with Twitter starting around 7 pm Eastern time (midnight GMT), with users unable to see their main feed, check notifications or use other functions such as lists.

"Can anyone see this or is Twitter broken," tweeted one user.

"Works for me," replied Musk.

At the peak of the outage -- which appeared to be resolving as of 0400 GMT -- DownDetector clocked more than 10,000 complaints in the United States, as the hashtag #TwitterDown trended on the platform.

The number of reports logged by the monitor from other countries ranged from a few hundred to several thousand.

According to DownDetector's breakdown, the outage appeared to mainly affect people using Twitter on the web interface. Around 10 percent of complaints logged by the monitor were from mobile app users.

The cause of the outage was not immediately clear.

Web monitor NetBlocks said the outages were international and "not related to country-level internet disruptions or filtering".

Twitter is one of the world's most influential social media platforms, used by world leaders, media, businesses and celebrities.

In addition to worries about its technical operations, fears have also grown about user safety on the platform after the mass layoffs hit content moderation and misinformation teams.

There was further controversy when Twitter allowed banned users to return to the platform, including former US President Donald Trump, who was kicked out following the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Twitter also suspended -- and then restored -- the accounts of journalists critical of Musk.

The South African-born billionaire has said his severe cost cuts at Twitter have saved the company, and announced last week that he would step down as CEO once he finds "someone foolish enough to take the job".

Most Viewed

 
 
Technology

Swiss Interior Minister Open to Social Media Ban for Children

A teenager poses holding a mobile phone displaying a message from TikTok as law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia takes effect, in Sydney, Australia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)
A teenager poses holding a mobile phone displaying a message from TikTok as law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia takes effect, in Sydney, Australia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Swiss Interior Minister Open to Social Media Ban for Children

A teenager poses holding a mobile phone displaying a message from TikTok as law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia takes effect, in Sydney, Australia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)
A teenager poses holding a mobile phone displaying a message from TikTok as law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia takes effect, in Sydney, Australia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)

Switzerland must do more to shield children from social media risks, Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider was quoted as saying on Sunday, signaling she was open to a potential ban on the platforms for youngsters.

Following Australia's recent ban on social media for under-16s, Baume-Schneider told SonntagsBlick newspaper that Switzerland should examine similar measures.

"The debate in Australia and the ‌EU is ‌important. It must also ‌be ⁠conducted in Switzerland. ‌I am open to a social media ban," said the minister, a member of the center-left Social Democrats. "We must better protect our children."

She said authorities needed to look at what should be restricted, listing options ⁠such as banning social media use by children, ‌curbing harmful content, and addressing ‍algorithms that prey on ‍young people's vulnerabilities.

Detailed discussions will begin ‍in the new year, supported by a report on the issue, Baume-Schneider said, adding: "We mustn't forget social media platforms themselves: they must take responsibility for what children and young people consume."

Australia's ban has won praise ⁠from many parents and groups advocating for the welfare of children, and drawn criticism from major technology companies and defenders of free speech.

Earlier this month, the parliament of the Swiss canton of Fribourg voted to prohibit children from using mobile phones at school until they are about 15, the latest step taken at ‌a local level in Switzerland to curb their use in schools.

Technology

Google Warns Staff with US Visas against International Travel

FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
TT
TT

Google Warns Staff with US Visas against International Travel

FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

Alphabet's Google has advised some employees on US visas to avoid international travel due to delays at embassies, Business Insider reported on Friday, citing an internal email.

The email, sent by the company's outside counsel BAL Immigration Law on Thursday, warned staff who need a visa ⁠stamp to re-enter the United States not to leave the country because visa processing times have lengthened, the report said.

Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Some US embassies and consulates face visa ⁠appointment delays of up to 12 months, the memo said, warning that international travel will "risk an extended stay outside the US", according to the report.

The administration of President Donald Trump this month announced increased vetting of applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, including screening social media accounts.

The H-1B visa program, widely used by the US ⁠technology sector to hire skilled workers from India and China, has been under the spotlight after the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee for new applications this year.

In September, Google's parent company Alphabet had strongly advised its employees to avoid international travel and urged H-1B visa holders to remain in the US, according to an email seen by Reuters.

Technology

AI Boom Drives Data-Center Dealmaking to Record High, Says Report

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
TT
TT

AI Boom Drives Data-Center Dealmaking to Record High, Says Report

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Global data-center dealmaking surged to a record high through November this year, driven by an insatiable demand for ​computing infrastructure to meet the boom in artificial intelligence usage.

Data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed that there were more than 100 data center transactions during the period, with the total value sitting just under $61 billion.

WHY ‌IT'S IMPORTANT

Interest ‌in data centers ‌has ⁠swelled ​this ‌year as tech giants and AI hyperscalers have planned billions of dollars in spending to scale up infrastructure.

AI-related companies have powered much of the gains in US stocks this year, but concerns over lofty ⁠valuations and debt-fueled spending have also sparked worries ‌over how quickly corporates can ‍turn the investments ‍into profits.

BY THE NUMBERS

Including M&As, asset ‍sales and equity investments, data center investments hit nearly $61 billion through the end of November, already surpassing 2024's record high $60.81 billion.

Since ​2019, data center dealmaking in the US and Canada totaled about $160 billion, ⁠with Asia-Pacific reaching nearly $40 billion and Europe $24.2 billion.

GRAPHIC KEY QUOTE

"High interest comes from financial sponsors, which are attracted by the risk/reward profile of such assets. Private equity firms are eager buyers but are generally reluctant sellers, creating an environment where availability for sale of high-quality data center assets is scarce," said Iuri ‌Struta, TMT analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence.