On February 16, 2026, X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, faced a widespread service outage that impacted users across multiple countries, including the United States, Spain, and Colombia. The outage began around 14:15 UTC, with monitoring sites like Downdetector reporting a significant spike in user complaints about being unable to access the platform or load content through the website or mobile app.

During the disruption, reports of service failures escalated, exceeding 40,000 in the United States and nearly 4,000 in Spain, as cited by various news outlets and data from Downdetector. Users trying to access X through their browsers were met with error messages, preventing them from loading new posts or engaging with the platform in any meaningful way. This incident highlights the susceptibility of social media platforms to technical issues that can disrupt service on a global scale.

The implications of such outages are substantial, affecting not only user experience but also the platform's reputation in a competitive market. As more users rely on social media for communication and information sharing, the pressure on X's parent company, owned by Elon Musk, will likely increase to enhance their service reliability and reduce downtime in the future.