Google Cloud outage hits YouTube, Gmail and other sites

A widespread Google Cloud outage hit Sunday, rendering popular sites and apps like YouTube and Gmail unusable for many users, CNET reports. Google’s Cloud Computing Engine and Cloud Networking services began experiencing issues as of 4 p.m. ET, according to the status page on company’s website.

According to Down Detector, which logs outages and service interruptions, the outages appear to be primarily clustered along the East Coast of the United States as well as in parts of South America and Europe.

A look at an outage map from Down Detector which shows trouble spots for the Google Cloud Service as of 5 p.m. ET on Sun., June 2, 2019. Down Detector

In addition to popular social media sites, Google Cloud is relied on by a variety of large-scale companies, including Weight Watchers, PayPal and Target. Even Apple admitted it uses Google Cloud for its iCloud storage services, The Verge reports.

Social media users have been quick to voice their frustrations. The hashtag #YouTubeDOWN is now among Twitter’s trending topics in the U.S.

In a statement to CNet, Google acknowledged the outage and blamed the issue on network congestion. “We believe we have identified the root cause of the congestion and expect to return to normal service shortly,” the company said.