The company is blaming the blackout on "configuration changes" to key routers that communicate between systems.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted an apology Monday night: "Sorry for the disruption. I know how much you rely on our services to stay connected with the people you care about."

On Wall Street, the company's stock fell five percent in just a few hours. The crippling outage could cost Facebook more than $70 million in revenue and Zuckerberg personally lost more than $6 billion.

The incident highlights Facebook's incredible power and broad impact on global speech, and it comes as lawmakers scrutinize the social media giant.

On Tuesday a former Facebook employee turned whistleblower is appearing before a Senate subcommittee after she revealed her identity Sunday on CBS' 60 Minutes.

"The version of Facebook that exists today is tearing our societies apart," said Frances Haugen in that 60 Minutes interview.

Haugen was a manager at Facebook who worked there for two years but left this spring after her "Civic Integrity Unit" dissolved following the 2020 election.

She's now shared thousands of pages of internal Facebook research with Congress that she says shows the social media giant knowingly stokes division, spreads misinformation, and hurts young users for the sake of its own profit.

Haugen even filed complaints with federal law enforcement arguing that Facebook's own research shows how its Instagram platform can harm teenage girls' mental health.

"Facebook has realized that if they change the algorithm to be safer, people will spend less time on the site, they'll click on less ads, they'll make less money," explained Haugen.

On the political side, Haugen says Facebook put some safeguards in place leading up to the 2020 election but reverted after it was over to prioritize growth.

Meanwhile, Facebook is pushing back hard following her 60 Minutes interview.

"Every day our teams have to balance protecting the ability of billions of people to express themselves openly with the need to keep our platform a safe and positive place," the company said in a statement.

Haugen's testimony and Monday's outage have not been linked.

Facebook says no user data was compromised during the disruption. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

250 Reasons Why We Love America

Stories of Heroism and Miracles from the Devastation in Venezuela, Shared on Social Media

Enemies Within: The Threat of Communism to America

Man Taken into Custody in Somalia for Role in Huge MN Fraud Scheme

Supreme Court Decision Sparks Urgent Calls to Pass SAVE America Act

Supreme Court Upholds Birthright Citizenship in Blow to Trump Immigration Enforcement

Supreme Court Rules on State Laws Excluding Men From Women's Sports

America 250: Freedom Trucks Travel across US Celebrating American History

Lowest Gas Prices Are in States with Republican Governors, Legislatures: Report

MLB's Texas Rangers Shun 'Pride Night,' Host 'Faith and Family Night' Instead

Resolution to Preserve Daughters of the American Revolution for Women Only Is Defeated

Texas Institutes Bible Passages into Its Public School Reading List

US, Iran Skirmish Following Tehran's Ceasefire Violations; Israel, Lebanon Sign 'Historic Accomplishment'

Supreme Court Deals Massive Blow to the Deep State, Reversing 90-Year Precedent in Humphrey's Executor

Justice Alito Torches SCOTUS Ruling in Mail-in Ballot Case, Warns of Voter Fraud

SCOTUS Rules 5-4 to Permit Counting of Mail-In Ballots that Arrive AFTER Election Day

Breitbart's AMERICAN SOUNDTRACK: Firebrand Mary Kutter's Poignant Birthday Tribute; 'Through All the Hell and Glory Days You Stand Here With Amazing Grace'

America's Semiquincentennial Begins: Trump Launches Massive National Mall Expo

Woman Removed from Detroit Tigers Game for Wearing 'Jesus Over Pride' Shirt

Netherlands Does the Unthinkable: Euthanize a Young Child