The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Meta, demanding that the company stop using the term “PG-13” to describe content restrictions on Instagram teen accounts, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The dispute began after Meta announced last month that teenagers on Instagram would, by default, only be shown content that aligns with PG-13 movie rating standards. Two weeks later, the MPA objected, arguing that Meta’s description was “literally false and highly misleading.”
In its letter, the MPA said Meta’s claim creates a false impression that its content controls are comparable to the film industry’s rating system, which it emphasized is fundamentally different. “The MPA has worked for decades to earn the public’s trust in its rating system,” the letter stated. “Any dissatisfaction with Meta’s automated classification will inevitably cause the public to question the integrity of the MPA’s rating system.”
The association also noted that Meta’s content moderation relies heavily on artificial intelligence, a process unrelated to how movie ratings are assigned by human review panels.
Meta responded by saying that it never claimed certification from the MPA or official equivalence to its system. The company said its restrictions are merely “guided” by PG-13 principles, rather than based on the actual rating criteria, and argued that its reference to the term falls under fair use.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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