Widespread internet disruption: Google services, Cloudflare, Spotify encounter issues, users claim problems.
Here's the revised, original version of the article:
### Update: June 13, 2025, 12:44 PM ET#### - Dive into our latest insights on the potential causes that led to the internet hiccups on Thursday.
### Update: June 13, 2025, 9:45 AM ET#### - Google Cloud just announced that they've got their act together again, following the big-time internet chaos on Thursday. The company pinned it on a statement from their CEO, Thomas Kurian, stated across X.
On the other hand, Cloudflare, a well-known IT management provider, revealed they've bounced back and the internet outage on Thursday lasted a solid 2 hours and 28 minutes.
### Cloudflare's Apology Post#### - Listen up, folks, we truly regret the massive meltdown: this is our mess, and even though the immediate cause was a third-party fiasco, we're the ones who shouldered the responsibility for our chosen dependencies and the way we set up our systems around them. (Check out their heartfelt blog post.)
### Update: June 12, 2025, 9:30 PM ET #### - At 9:27 PM ET, Google Cloud declared that all their services are back in action after the service brawl. The company promised: "We'll dissect this incident once we've wrapped up our own investigation."
### Update: June 12, 2025, 6:50 PM ET #### - As we're putting this out, error reports at Down Detector are dwindling, and hosting platforms like Google Cloud and Cloudflare report that the roughest patches are smoothed out. But here's the kicker: Cloudflare claims that Google Cloud was to blame for the worldwide internet outage. Get the scoop on our original story below.
Is the whole cyberworld kaput?
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Cyberspace started acting up around 2:30 PM ET on Thursday, June 12, with users reporting tons of service issues across popular websites and apps like Twitch, Gmail, Discord, Nintendo Switch Online, Spotify, and loads of other platforms. By 3:30 PM, some phewed and relaxed, but there were still hiccups.
Error alerts popped up on Down Detector, and distraught netizens took to social media to vent about website woes. Our reporters, too, encountered difficulties accessing some Google services when the mess began.
Cloudflare, one of the services hit by the worldwide computer meltdown, called attention to "Broad Cloudflare service outages" on its site mid-afternoon. At first, they mentioned they were on investigative duty. However, a later update said, "Things are starting to stabilize. We anticipate sporadic errors across the affected services as systems readjust and caches fill."
At the same time, Google Cloud reported that multiple of their products were confronting service challenges.
# cyberspace, frustrated workers, social media #
According to Down Detector, these sites experienced a surge in user error reports:
- Discord
- Google (nya, Google Cloud, Gmail, Google Meet, et al.)
- Spotify
- Twitch
- character.ai
- Rocket league
- Cloudflare
- Etsy
- Pokémon Trading card game
- Snapchat
- fuboTV
- Anthropic (maker of Claude)
- Shopify
- Gemini
- MLB.tv
- Doordash
- Ikea
- Equifax
- Marvel
- Vimeo
- Nintendo Switch Online
- Gitlan
- Calendly
Service troubles like these might lead to a domino effect, impacting platforms like Cloudflare, Google Cloud, and Shopify. And since the disruption occurred during work hours, folks were ticked off at the difficulties they faced accessing tools like Google Meet. By 3:35 PM, many of the websites appeared to have regained their composure, according to reports on Down Detector.
Amid social media platforms like X, bewildered users traded their thoughts about the service disruptions sweeping the web.
This story is still unfolding, so check back for updates.
### Update: June 12, 2025, 4:40 PM EDT #### This story has been updated to include more juicy insights about the massive internet outage on June 12. The previous version of this story suggested that Amazon Web Services (AWS) was affected by the outages, but an AWS representative confirmed that they have remained serviceable.*
### Topic: Google
- The widespread internet issues on Thursday, June 12, affected several popular apps and websites such as Google, Google Cloud, Gmail, Google Meet, Twitch, Spotify, Discord, Snapchat, and Cloudflare.
- Social media platforms became buzzing grounds for frustrated users to share their concerns and voices about the service disruptions that swept the web.
- Google Cloud announced that they were back in action after the service brawl on June 12, promising to investigate the incident thoroughly.
- AI-powered apps like character.ai and Claude were also impacted by the outage.
- Data-and-cloud-computing services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) initially seemed unaffected, but later down the line, it was confirmed that they remained serviceable.
- As technology giants like Google Cloud and Cloudflare sorted out their issues, people became increasingly anxious, especially during work hours, when they encountered difficulties accessing tools like Google Meet.
