Facebook, WhatsApp outage an annoyance for U.S., but a big deal in rest of the world

The global Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram outage on Monday may have been an annoyance for the platforms' users in the United States, but it turned life upside down in parts of the rest of the world where the apps have become essential to commerce, health care and the basic functioning of government.

In India, doctors sounded the alarm about being unable to coordinate their schedules or share patient scans without WhatsApp. And in Malaysia, some small-business owners were left without a way to manage day-to-day operations as all business communications that are conducted through the app.

Richard James Mendoza, a freelance photo and video editor in Quezon City, northeast of the Philippine capital, Manila, said the outage had left “everything in shambles.”

Mendoza, 28, said he relies heavily on Facebook for information on the country's charged presidential election campaign and Covid-19 updates from the government. On Monday, his feed ground to a halt.