More than 3.5billion people worldwide were hit by the technical issue that took Facebook and fellow sites Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram offline from 4pm on Monday. Businesses around the globe, which rely on social media for customers, were faced with a big financial hit.
Zuckerberg temporarily lost £4.4bn from his personal fortune as shares plummeted 14 per cent. And Facebook Inc is thought to have lost £75million, based on 2020 earnings. Zuckerberg told users “sorry for the disruption” and “I know how much you rely on our services”. There was “no evidence that user data was compromised”.
A faulty update had disconnected the firm’s core servers from the internet. Harvard University web expert Jonathan Zittrain said: “Facebook basically locked its keys in its car.” Meanwhile a whistleblower who worked at Facebook has accused the company of harming children and putting “profits before people”.
Appearing before US senators yesterday, Frances Haugen said: “I am here because I believe that Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division, weaken our democracy and much more. The company’s leadership knows ways to make Facebook and Instagram safer and won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their immense profits before people.”
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