Motion Picture Association hits Meta with cease-and-desist over use of ‘PG-13’ label

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) sent Meta a cease-and-desist letter demanding it stop using the term “PG-13,” as first reported. The Wall Street Journal.

Last month, Meta announcement On Instagram, teens will, by default, only see content that adheres to a PG-13 movie rating. Two weeks later, the MPA sent Meta a cease-and-desist letter, asserting that Meta’s claim that juvenile Instagram account content would follow PG-13 guidelines was “literally false and grossly misleading.”

The company says its movie-rating system can’t compare to Meta’s content restrictions, which it says “seem to rely heavily on artificial intelligence.”

“The MPA has worked for decades to gain public confidence in its rating system,” the letter said. “Any dissatisfaction with the automated classification of materials will inevitably lead the public to question the integrity of the MPA’s rating system.”

In response to the letter, Meta said it did not claim its juvenile accounts were certified by the MPA or officially rated PG-13. Additionally, the company says its content restrictions are “dictated” by PG-13 rather than directly tied to the MPA. Meta also says that its use of the term qualifies as fair use.