According to The Wall Street Journal, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Meta, insisting that the company stop referring to “PG-13.”
Meta recently revealed that, by default, teenagers on Instagram would only be exposed to material that meets PG-13 film standards. Two weeks after this announcement, the MPA sent a cease-and-desist letter, arguing that Meta’s assertion that teen Instagram content would comply with PG-13 rules is “completely inaccurate and extremely deceptive.”
The MPA contends that its film rating system is not equivalent to Meta’s content moderation, which it claims “seems to depend largely on artificial intelligence.”
“For many years, the MPA has built public confidence in its ratings,” the letter stated. “If people become dissatisfied with Meta’s automated system, it could undermine trust in the MPA’s ratings as well.”
Meta responded by clarifying that it never said its teen accounts were certified by the MPA or officially rated as PG-13. The company also explained that its content controls are “inspired” by PG-13, but not directly associated with the MPA. Meta further claims its use of the term is protected as fair use.
