Global blackout: How many Millions did Meta lose in Facebook, Instagram blackout?

In an unprecedented event that left billions of users disconnected, Meta's social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, experienced a major global outage on Tuesday, March 5th, 2024. The widespread disruption not only caused frustration among users but also dealt a significant financial blow to the tech giant, according to experts.

The outage began around 10 a.m. ET, with reports of issues flooding in from users worldwide. Meta's share price took an immediate hit, dropping by 1.5% as the disruption unfolded. However, the financial impact intensified, with the company's stock ultimately falling by 1.6% by the end of the day.

As users found themselves unexpectedly logged out of Facebook and unable to access their accounts, confusion and frustration mounted. Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp were also affected, with users reporting feed failures and difficulties sending messages. 

We're aware people are having trouble accessing our services. We are working on this now.

— Andy Stone (@andymstone) March 5, 2024

Amidst the chaos, Andy Stone from Meta took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to address the concerns, offering reassurance that solutions were being worked on. A statement from the company read, "resolved the issue as quickly as possible for everyone who was impacted, and we apologize for any inconvenience."

Experts have now shed light on the staggering financial losses incurred by Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, as a result of the outage. Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, revealed to DailyMail.com that Zuckerberg lost approximately $100 million in income on Tuesday morning due to the global downtime of Meta's platforms.

The cause of the outage is believed to be similar to the technical glitches that plagued Meta's platforms in 2021, resulting in a 7-hour disruption. However, this time, the issue was resolved within 2 hours. 

Speculation arose that the outage may have been connected to Meta's preparations to comply with the new Digital Markets Act of the European Union, which has a deadline of Thursday for Big Tech companies to adhere to its regulations. 

Meta might be exploring changes such as allowing users to separate their Facebook and Instagram accounts to prevent the combining of personal data for targeted advertising purposes. However, it remains unclear if the outage was directly related to these preparations.

As Meta works to recover from the global outage, users and industry experts alike will be closely monitoring the company's response and the potential implications of this disruption on the tech giant's operations and reputation.