Twitter users in California found themselves grappling with a digital blackout as the popular social media network reportedly stopped working today. According to outage tracking website DownDetector, more than thousands of reports flooded in between 7-9 am PT, indicating problems with the platform. The majority of the issues appeared to be related to website use, but there were also complaints about iPhone and iPad apps.
A Twitter spokesperson confirmed the incident stating it was caused by a glitch in internal systems, which has now been fixed. He added, “The service was down for some users in California, but it is now back up and running. We appreciate everyone’s patience during this time and apologize for any inconvenience caused.” The issues appeared to have affected users both on mobile and desktop platforms.
Twitter, with its 330 million monthly users worldwide, plays a critical role in communication, specifically in the United States. Californians heavily rely on the networking service for consuming news, entertainment, and staying connected with friends and family. While Twitter has been occasionally prone to short outages, a broad disruption like today’s incident is relatively rare and throws a spotlight on just how essential the service has become. Online dependability is of the highest importance for users, and incidents like this stress the importance of consistent, reliable access to social radio networks for free speech and information.