Meta will “substantially reduce” describing Instagram teen accounts as PG-13
Meta has agreed to “significantly scale back” its use of the PG-13 rating system in connection with its Teen accounts on Instagram starting April 15.
Last year, the Motion Picture Association objected to Meta directly referencing its film content rating, which warns parents against letting their pre-teens interact with certain media. In a cease and desist letter seen by At the time, the MPA said Meta’s claim that its ratings were comparable to PG-13 ratings was “literally false and highly misleading.”
The MPA argued that its guidelines for the established film rating system and Meta’s own explanation of reworked accounts for minors did not match, and that establishing a connection could have a detrimental effect on the MPA’s public image by association. He also said that Meta’s system apparently relies heavily on AI to determine what young users see on the social media platform.
When introducing the changes in 2025, Meta said the risk of seeing “suggestive content” or hearing certain language in a movie rated 13+ was a good way to frame something similar happening on a teen Instagram account. She added that she is doing everything possible to keep these cases to a minimum.
Meta has now updated its initial blog post about the changes after reaching an agreement with the MPA, adding a lengthy disclaimer that says, in part, “there are many differences between social media and movies. We did not work with the MPA when updating our content settings, they do not evaluate any content on Instagram, and they do not approve or endorse our content settings in any way.”
Meta goes on to explain that she drew on the MPA guidelines based on her familiarity with parents, as well as the feedback she received from parents, and will continue to do so. The difference is that he will no longer make the connection as explicitly in his subsequent communications.
“Today’s agreement clearly distinguishes MPA’s movie ratings from Instagram’s Teen account content moderation tools,” said Charles Rivkin, MPA president and CEO. “While we welcome efforts to protect children from content that may not be suitable for them, this agreement helps ensure that parents do not confuse the two systems – which operate in very different contexts. The MPA is proud of the trust we have built with parents over nearly sixty years through our film rating system, and we will continue to do everything we can to protect that trust.
