Professor Mary Graw Leary of Catholic Law was recently quoted in TIME in an article titled, "She Says Social-Media Algorithms Led to Her Eating Disorder. Now She’s Suing TikTok and Instagram." The piece highlights the story of one individual among more than 1,800 plaintiffs—including young adults, parents, school districts, local governments, and 29 state attorneys general—who are suing major social media companies in a consolidated lawsuit. The plaintiffs argue that these platforms are "addictive and dangerous," prioritizing growth and profit over the mental and physical well-being of users, especially children and teens. Currently progressing through federal court in California, this case has the potential to reshape the role of social media in American society.

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TIME
By: Charlotte Alter
Date: June 18, 2025
She Says Social-Media Algorithms Led to Her Eating Disorder. Now She’s Suing TikTok and Instagram

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The suits filed by Koziol, the Cusatos, and others represent a new phase in the effort to combat social media harms. “The strategy of these companies is to do anything they can to distort the language of Section 230 to protect them with impunity,” says Mary Graw, a law professor at the Catholic University of America who has written extensively about Section 230. “As a result we have an unregulated industry which is used by most of the globe with the potential to cause massive harm, and no way to look under the hood to see what the industry is doing. It is stunning. No other industry has such avoidance of accountability.”

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