EA Connect Issue

On EA Connect, the game is not showing friends who are connected anymore.  instead the screen just shows boxes.  It makes it impossible for me to send game invites to people online or even see who is online.  It is also not working on the messages menu, again just showing boxes. 

When I try to use the "invite a friend" option in play a friend mode, it briefly shows boxes where online friends should be, then it says "action could not be completed. Try again."

What can i do to make this start working again please?