Meta faces MPA cease-and-desist over unauthorized use of PG-13 rating

Meta has received a cease-and-desist letter from the Motion Picture Association (MPA) demanding that Meta immediately stop using the term “PG-13,” as reported initially by The Wall Street Journal.

Last month, Meta asserted that teens on Instagram would, by default, only see content that adheres to PG-13 movie ratings. Two weeks later, the MPA sent Facebook parent company a cease-and-desist letter, declaring that its assertion that content on teen Instagram accounts would follow PG-13 guidelines is “literally false and highly misleading.”

The film studio remarks that its movie-rating system can’t be compared to Meta’s content restrictions, which it says “appear to depend heavily on artificial intelligence.”

According to the letter, “The MPA has worked for decades to earn the public’s trust in its rating system.”

“Any dissatisfaction with Meta’s automated classification will inevitably cause the public to question the integrity of the MPA’s rating system,” the letter added.

Meta’s response to the letter clarified that it has not asserted that its teen accounts are either officially PG-13 rated or certified by the MPA. The company contends that its content restrictions are “guided” by the PG-13 rating, rather than having a direct link to the MPA. Furthermore, Meta asserts that its application of the term is permissible under fair use.