Restaurants have a global technology problem

McDonald's stores around the world closed or suspended online orders on Friday after what the company said was a technology outage.

The unspecified issue affected the fast food chain's stores in Japan and Australia, while social media users also reported disruptions in China, Britain and elsewhere across Asia and Europe.

“We are aware of the technology outage, which has impacted our restaurants; The problem is now resolved. A McDonald's spokesperson said: “We thank customers for their patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

“It is worth noting that the issue is not related to a cybersecurity event,” McDonald's statement added, responding to speculation that the company may have been the target of a cyberattack.

“Several stores across the country have temporarily suspended operations,” McDonald's Japan said in an update on the X website. “We apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers,” she added.

In an earlier post on Friday morning, McDonald's Japan said: “There is currently a system failure.” Japan has nearly 3,000 McDonald's stores, behind only China and the United States.

McDonald's Australia also said its stores were affected by the nationwide system outage.

The South China Morning Post reported that McDonald's said at 2.30pm local time on its Chinese-language Facebook page: “Due to a computer system failure, the mobile ordering and self-ordering kiosks are not working. Please order directly at the restaurant counter.” I apologize for any inconvenience caused.”

The issue was fixed in a later update at 4 p.m. local time, the company said, according to SCMP.

NBC News has contacted McDonald's for further comment.