Motion Picture Association hits Instagram with cease-and-desist over 'PG-13' label

Hollywood's leading trade association is demanding that Instagram stop using the famed "PG-13" rating to describe its new content policies for teens

Hollywood's leading trade association is demanding that Instagram stop using the famed "PG-13" rating to describe its new content policies for teens.

The Motion Picture Association, which represents the film industry's marquee studios and streaming services, sent a cease-and-desist letter last week to Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook.

"The MPA has worked for decades to earn the public’s trust in its rating system," Naresh Kilaru, a lawyer for the MPA, said in an Oct. 28 letter to Meta.

"Any dissatisfaction with Meta’s automated classification will inevitably cause the public to question the integrity of the MPA’s rating system," Kilaru added in the letter, which was shared with NBC News on Wednesday.

Kilaru said Meta's advertising claims that its teen accounts would be "guided by" PG-13 ratings standards were "literally false and highly misleading." He said the PG-13 label is a "registered certification" mark "owned by MPA."