By Peter Omopo
A massive internet outage linked to Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Monday disrupted several major websites, online services, and mobile applications across the globe, temporarily crippling parts of the digital economy.
According to reports by BBC and CNN Business, the outage affected hundreds of companies that depend on AWS cloud infrastructure, including Snapchat, Roblox, Disney+, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, McDonald’s, Canva, Hulu, Fortnite, and financial institutions such as Lloyds Bank.
Data from Downdetector, a website that monitors internet disruptions, showed over four million user complaints across more than 500 global companies — making it one of the most extensive cloud-related outages in recent years.
Amazon confirmed the fault originated from its US-EAST-1 region, a key data hub that routes traffic for global clients.
In a statement on Monday, the tech giant said,
“We continue to observe recovery across most of the affected AWS services. We can confirm global services and features that rely on US-EAST-1 have also recovered. We are working towards full resolution and will provide updates as we have more information.”
While Amazon reported “significant signs of recovery,” some platforms — including Reddit — were still experiencing intermittent connectivity problems as of Monday evening.
The incident underscores the global dependence on a small number of cloud providers to sustain online operations. AWS, which powers millions of websites and applications, is one of the world’s largest cloud computing platforms, supporting data storage, app hosting, and real-time user connections.
Experts have warned that such outages highlight the vulnerability of global digital infrastructure, with a single regional fault capable of triggering widespread disruption across multiple industries — from entertainment to aviation and finance.
Though Amazon has since restored most of its systems, the temporary blackout reignited debate over the need for greater redundancy and diversification in the world’s cloud computing ecosystem.
