X service restored after global disruption

ISLAMABAD: The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, experienced a widespread outage on Monday, leaving users across multiple countries unable to load posts or access key features before service was restored later in the day, outage-monitoring data showed.

Users in Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, India and other regions reported problems with both the app and the website, according to the outage tracker Downdetector and technical monitor NetBlocks.

Complaints peaked during the morning and afternoon, with thousands of users flagging disruption, including more than 23,000 reports in the US alone, before declining as access was restored.

In Pakistan, Downdetector data showed a peak of about 275 outage reports in the early evening, with users saying the platform loaded only the logo and failed to display timelines or other content.

The issue began in the morning local time, and there was no immediate official explanation from X for the cause or expected resolution time.

Connectivity monitor NetBlocks said the interruption appeared to be an “international outage” and was not linked to any country-level internet filtering or shutdown, citing similar recent outages on Feb. 9 and Feb. 1.

AFP journalists in countries including France and Thailand also reported access problems during the disruption.

Service was restored on Monday afternoon, with timelines and posting features functioning normally again by around 1530 GMT, according to tracking data from Downdetector.

Spokespeople for X did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the outage before it was resolved.

The platform has faced intermittent technical issues in recent weeks, including outages in January and earlier in February. Musk’s acquisition of the service, and subsequent integration with his AI company xAI, has coincided with structural changes that analysts say could be affecting stability and user experience.