In March and April 2024, consumers faced difficulties accessing a variety of services—from baked goods and Big Macs to WhatsApp messages—due to IT outages. Experts suggest these disruptions are occurring with increasing frequency.

Downdetector

During this period, Downdetector, a website that tracks online service outages, gained considerable attention. The site’s data highlighted the scale of recent disruptions, with over 1.75 million user-reported issues for WhatsApp alone on April 3. Tens of thousands of issues were also reported for the App Store and Apple TV, although neither company has commented on the causes of these outages.

Brennen Smith

The vice president of technology at Ookla, Downdetector’s parent company, confirms this trend. According to Smith, the frequency and visibility of outages are indeed increasing. He explained to the BBC that the internet is becoming less stable over time.

This instability can be attributed to the complex structure of the internet, which, like software, consists of multiple layers. As regulators require modifications, consumers demand uninterrupted access, and investors seek innovative features like AI chatbots, new layers are continually added, elevating the risk of malfunctions.

Smith noted that the current drive for incorporating transformative technologies by industry giants is ambitious.With the push for innovation, tech companies are moving faster, but this comes at the risk of potentially breaking things, he stated.

Source: BBC