Meta has agreed to “substantially reduce” its use of the PG-13 ratings system in relation to its Teen Accounts on Instagram starting April 15.
Last year, the Motion Picture Association objected to Meta directly referencing its movie content rating, which cautions parents against letting their pre-teens engage with certain media. In a cease-and-desist letter seen by at the time, the MPA said that Meta claiming its were comparable to PG-13 ratings was “literally false and highly misleading.”
The MPA argued that its guidelines for the established movie-ratings system and Meta’s own explanation of the revamped accounts for minors did not align, and that drawing a link could have a detrimental effect on the MPA’s public image by association. It also said that Meta’s system seemingly relies heavily on AI to determine what younger users see on the social media platform.
When introducing the changes in 2025, Meta said that the risk of seeing “suggestive content” or hearing certain language in a movie rated 13+ was a good way of framing something similar happening on an Instagram teen account. It added that it was doing all it could to keep such instances to a minimum.
Meta has now updated that initial blog about the changes after coming to an agreement with the MPA, adding a lengthy disclaimer that reads, in part, “there are lots of differences between social media and movies. We didn’t work with the MPA when updating our content settings, they’re not rating any content on Instagram, and they’re not endorsing or approving our content settings in any way.”
Meta goes on to explain that it drew “inspiration” from the MPA guidance given its familiarity with parents, as well as feedback it had received from parents, and will continue to do so. The difference is that it won’t make the connection so explicitly in its communications going forward.
“Today’s agreement clearly distinguishes the MPA’s film ratings from Instagram’s Teen Account content moderation tools,” said Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of the MPA. “While we welcome efforts to protect kids from content that may not be appropriate for them, this agreement helps ensure that parents do not conflate the two systems – which operate in very different contexts. The MPA is proud of the trust we have built with parents for nearly sixty years with our film rating system, and we will continue to do everything we can to protect that trust.”
