It’s unlikely that any users were on Instagram, Facebook or Whatsapp on Monday at approximately 12 p.m. on Monday Oct. 4. 

These three apps, as well as other websites that fall under Facebook’s domain, were down for about five hours, causing many users to flock to other apps like Twitter or TikTok. 

The crash made many users realize just how dependent they are on social media to fill gaps in their free time. 

Facebook said that the issues were all due to errors in communication in its infrastructure system. The apps and their respective websites came online once a team was able to gain access to computer servers and reset them. 

Unfortunately, the reset couldn’t fix the other issues that Facebook is facing.

Former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen is a whistleblower who testified before the U.S. Senate on Tuesday Oct. 5, alleging that Facebook knew about the negative impact that it had on its young users, going as far as to say that they targeted children. 

Haugen argued that the government should regulate Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg. 

She also claimed that the company holds reports that would be essential to national security, suggesting that they are not disclosing the full details to the U.S. Congress. 

However, the corporation denies Haugen’s report, stating that Haugen did not work in child safety and had no involvement in the higher levels of the company, implying that her information was inaccurate. 

Haugen acknowledged that she did not work directly on these issues, but also stated that the documents that she leaked were available to all employees in the company. 

The hearing raises questions that have long been floating around the issue of Facebook, such as how the government can regulate the technology industry. 

The main concern coming from the testimony, however, is the impact that social media has on youth, especially young girls. Researchers and parents have long been aware of the negative mental health effects that apps such as Instagram and Facebook have, and yet there have not been any large-scale efforts to regulate these apps. 

The Federal Trade Commission is also suing Facebook, arguing that the company is in violation of antitrust laws. These laws help to stop monopolies from forming and they also help to make sure that there is fair trade. 

On Monday Oct. 4, Facebook filed a motion to throw out the suit. The litigation is piling up against Facebook. In the future, some change will have to be made, either by the company or the government.

On the other hand, Google has announced that it will be pulling ads from YouTube that spread false claims about climate change. 

This announcement comes after YouTube said that it would be pulling videos that spread misinformation about vaccines last Wednesday. The ban has led many to applaud Google’s steps to stop misleading videos on YouTube and prompted users to call on Facebook to also remove ads that contain misinformation from their site. 

The technology industry has certainly had an eventful week, and the events that transpired will certainly have an effect on all users.