Instagram, Facebook down: Thousands of users report issues in US, shows Downdetector

Instagram, Facebook down: Meta, the parent company of Facebook, said on Friday that some users were experiencing difficulties accessing its social media platforms.

According to outage-tracking website Downdetector, more than 62,000 users had reported problems with Facebook, while over 8,000 reports were logged for Instagram as of 10:11 am ET. Downdetector compiles outage data based on user-submitted reports and information gathered from multiple sources.

The company's spokesperson Andy Stone took to X and mentioned, "We're aware people are currently having trouble accessing our services. We're working on it.”

More than 1,00,000 users reported issues with Facebook, whereas Instagram was done for over 10,000 users, according to Downdetector.

Netizens react

One of the X users said, “I can’t believe Facebook is down and i panicked thinking my account got disabled again.” Another remarked, “Both IG & Facebook Is Still Down For Me Waiting To It To Be Back Up!!!”

“Well Facebook down so I’ll scroll on here,” commented a third user.

Reliance to build AI-ready data centre for Meta in India

Meanwhile, Meta Platforms has announced plans to lease an artificial intelligence-ready data centre being developed by Reliance Industries, strengthening its partnership with the conglomerate led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, according to a Reuters report.

The agreement comes amid a rapid expansion of hyperscale data centre infrastructure in India, driven by major global technology companies including Amazon, Microsoft and Google. The push aligns with the Indian government's efforts to attract investments and establish the country as a key destination for AI development.

Earlier this year, Reliance pledged investments worth approximately $110 billion, while the Adani Group unveiled plans to invest $100 billion as part of broader efforts to transform India into a global AI and technology hub. To encourage such investments, the government has also offered foreign firms tax incentives exceeding two decades for operating through domestic data centres.

Meta and Reliance already share a strong business relationship. The US-based technology company is a significant investor in Jio Platforms, which is preparing for a public listing. The two companies further expanded their collaboration last year by launching a joint venture focused on developing AI solutions for businesses using Meta's Llama family of models.

As part of the new agreement, Reliance Industries will develop a 168-megawatt data centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, where the company operates its flagship energy and industrial complex. The facility, which will have the capacity to consume enough power to serve roughly 150,000 households, is expected to have room for future expansion.

Industry experts say the project benefits from the long-standing partnership between Meta and Reliance. According to Deven Choksey, Managing Director of Mumbai-based advisory firm DRChoksey FinServ, Jamnagar provides a significant competitive advantage due to its established infrastructure, reliable access to electricity and water, and comparatively lower operating costs.

"Reliance has the infrastructure and Meta has the AI expertise," he mentioned.

Reliance is expected to benefit from its extensive renewable energy infrastructure at the Jamnagar complex, enabling the company to power the data centre with cleaner and potentially lower-cost energy sources while reducing reliance on the conventional electricity grid, as per the report.

Meta did not disclose the financial details of the agreement and has not announced a timeline for the project's completion, the report noted. As per the consulting firm IMARC Group, India's data centre industry is on track for significant growth, with the market projected to almost double in value to $13.11 billion by 2034. The expansion is being driven by increasing digital adoption, growing demand for cloud services and the rising computing requirements of artificial intelligence applications.