Today, Facebook officials reported the technical issue that triggered a widespread outage earlier this week had been fixed. The interruption also impacted Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, and is believed to be the biggest interruption ever for the massive social media company.
Lee McKnight is an associate professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies. He says we may never know the precise cause of the 22-hour Facebook and Instagram outage, but it does raise other questions about Facebook’s public obligation to report to regulators.
McKnight says:
“The recent Facebook and Instagram outage is blamed not on a virus, malware, or DDOS cyberattack, but a ‘server issue.’
“The fact that a network of billions of users could seize up – because of a typo in a line of code, other random human or machine error, or a malicious actor intending to disrupt Facebook’s servers – should not surprise us since we have been here before. We may or may not ever know the precise cause of the epic 22-hour outage. Because it is a private firm operating private networks, there is no public service obligation on Facebook to report on its performance to regulators as there is for a telecommunications firm or other service providers. Should there be?
“In sum, yesterday’s outage and people’s reaction that something vital was taken from them suggests it is time to broaden the regulatory debate around the new dominant platforms of our times, and our lives, to include both privacy and data protection, and perhaps other additional reporting and performance obligations.”
To request interviews or get more information:
Daryl Lovell
Media Relations Manager
Division of Marketing and Communications
T 315.443.1184 M 315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu | @DarylLovell
The Nancy Cantor Warehouse, 350 W. Fayette St., 2nd Fl., Syracuse, NY 13202
news.syr.edu | syracuse.edu
Syracuse University
If you are looking for an expert in military and intelligence issues, please see comments from retired Vice Admiral Robert Murrett regarding President Biden’s trip to Asia and the mention of the “United States would intervene militarily if China attempts to…
As the intense lockdowns continue in China, one of our Syracuse University professors weighed in on possible consequences they may have on the economy. Dimitar Gueorguiev is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and…
Last week, a draft decision for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked from the Supreme Court and shows that five justices are preparing a judgment that would strike down Roe v. Wade. For reporters covering this ongoing story,…
For the first time in 45 years, the U.S. Education Department is planning to update federal mandates for how schools and colleges must accommodate students with disabilities. The department is soliciting public comments about how current regulations can be improved…
As we heard earlier today, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had no choice but to invade Ukraine in his Victory Day speech (CNN). Syracuse University’s Mark Jacobson has responded to this speech (see below). Jacobson is the assistant dean of Washington programs…
If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.
