California
Motion Picture Association tells Meta to stop using PG-13 to refer to Instagram teen account content
The Motion Picture Association is asking Meta to stop referring to content shown to teen accounts on Instagram as “guided by PG-13 ratings,” saying it is misleading and could erode trust in its movie ratings system.
A lawyer on behalf of the MPA sent Meta Platforms a cease-and-desist letter asking the tech giant to “immediately and permanently disassociate its Teen Accounts and AI tools from the MPA’s rating system.”
Instagram had announced last month that its teen accounts will be will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default. The Motion Picture Association, which runs the film rating system that was established nearly 60 years ago, said at the time that it was not contacted by Meta prior to its announcement.
The MPA says Meta claims that its Teen Accounts will be “guided by” PG-13 ratings and that its Teen Account content settings are “generally aligned with movie ratings for ages 13+” are “false and highly misleading.” The association’s movie ratings, which range from G to NC-17, are done by parents who watch entire movies and evaluate them to come up with a rating.
“Meta’s attempts to restrict teen content literally cannot be ‘guided by’ or ‘aligned with’ the MPA’s PG-13 movie rating because Meta does not follow this curated process,” the association’s letter says. “Instead, Meta’s content restrictions appear to rely heavily on artificial intelligence or other automated technology measures.”
In a statement, Meta said it updated its teen content policies to be “closer to PG-13 movie standards— which parents already know” so parents can better understand what their teens see on Instagram.
“We know social media isn’t the same as movies, but we made this change to support parents, and we hope to work with the MPA to continue bringing families this clarity,” the company said. Meta added that its intent was never to suggest that it partnered with the MPA or that the material on Instagram had been rated by the movie association.
Nevada
Conservative activist admits hiring private investigator who tracked mayor
Politically prominent Northern Nevada GOP activist and donor Robert Beadles has taken credit for hiring a private investigator who tracked Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve three years ago, ending a yearslong legal saga to unmask him as the client despite his attempts to remain anonymous.
Schieve and former Washoe County Commissioner Vaughn Hartung sued over the matter, alleging that tracking devices placed on their cars were an invasion of privacy. Beadles said in a statement Monday to The Nevada Independent and other media outlets that he did not tell private investigator David McNeely to track or follow anyone, but to verify allegations made against them.
“I didn’t direct the investigator’s methods, and no laws were broken by me or the investigator,” Beadles said. “I’m being painted as the villain for believing public officials should be accountable to the people they serve. I stand by that principle, and I won’t apologize for seeking the truth.”
Beadles has touted election fraud conspiracies, used his money to sow doubts about the election system in Nevada’s most significant battleground county and funded efforts to remove from power officials who disagree with his worldview while boosting hand-selected candidates who openly questioned the results of the 2020 election.
His statement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of decisions from the Washoe County District Court and the Nevada Supreme Court that required the “John Doe” who paid for the GPS tracking of Schieve and other elected Northern Nevada officials to identify himself or herself.
Scheive filed the lawsuit in 2022 after she discovered a GPS tracking device on her car. Hartung later joined her, and the two asked a judge to compel the private investigator to reveal his client.
A joint investigation between The Nevada Independent, KUNR and APM Reports indicated that at least three politicians were investigated by private detectives in 2022: Schieve, Hartung and Washoe County Commissioner Mariluz Garcia.
At the time, Nevada law did not specifically forbid the use of a GPS tracker, but the Legislature later changed that, making it a misdemeanor to unlawfully install a mobile tracking device on a vehicle. The measure passed without opposition in the 2023 legislative session.
Bill sponsor Assemblymember Jill Dickman, a Republican from Sparks, said it came in response to Schieve’s discovery of the tracker.
“Everyone I talked to was shocked that it wasn’t already illegal,” Dickman said at the time.
South Carolina
Former House member indicted on charges of defrauding clients
A former South Carolina state lawmaker has been indicted on federal allegations that he schemed to defraud his legal clients.
According to court papers, a federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted former Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, a Democrat and attorney, on 10 charges including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
Federal prosecutors said that Pendarvis, between 2022 and 2024, negotiated financial settlements on behalf of his clients, but didn’t tell them that he had received the funds. Instead, according to the government, Pendarvis — who was at the time serving as a lawmaker representing the Charleston area — allegedly pocketed the money himself, either not telling his clients the money had been obtained, or ultimately giving them lesser sums than what he had negotiated.
In all, according to prosecutors, Pendarvis deposited more half a million dollars into his law firm’s trust fund account, from which he paid nothing to clients.
A message left Wednesday with Pendarvis was not immediately returned.
Pendarvis’ law license was suspended last year after a former client accused him of forging his signature to reach a settlement in a lawsuit without his permission. The order issued then by the state Supreme Court didn’t detail why the suspension had been recommended, but the former client — whose initials matched one of the alleged victims detailed in Wednesday’s indictment — accused Pendarvis of sending him text messages asking him not to sue over the alleged forgery.
“Let’s handle this (expletive). No need to try and hurt me man. I can help you,” Pendarvis wrote Lewis in text messages filed with the state lawsuit, which is still pending.
First elected in a special election in 2017, he won three full terms before resigning from office about four months after the suspension of his law license.
According to court records, Pendarvis is slated to appear in federal court on Nov. 18.
Motion Picture Association tells Meta to stop using PG-13 to refer to Instagram teen account content
The Motion Picture Association is asking Meta to stop referring to content shown to teen accounts on Instagram as “guided by PG-13 ratings,” saying it is misleading and could erode trust in its movie ratings system.
A lawyer on behalf of the MPA sent Meta Platforms a cease-and-desist letter asking the tech giant to “immediately and permanently disassociate its Teen Accounts and AI tools from the MPA’s rating system.”
Instagram had announced last month that its teen accounts will be will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default. The Motion Picture Association, which runs the film rating system that was established nearly 60 years ago, said at the time that it was not contacted by Meta prior to its announcement.
The MPA says Meta claims that its Teen Accounts will be “guided by” PG-13 ratings and that its Teen Account content settings are “generally aligned with movie ratings for ages 13+” are “false and highly misleading.” The association’s movie ratings, which range from G to NC-17, are done by parents who watch entire movies and evaluate them to come up with a rating.
“Meta’s attempts to restrict teen content literally cannot be ‘guided by’ or ‘aligned with’ the MPA’s PG-13 movie rating because Meta does not follow this curated process,” the association’s letter says. “Instead, Meta’s content restrictions appear to rely heavily on artificial intelligence or other automated technology measures.”
In a statement, Meta said it updated its teen content policies to be “closer to PG-13 movie standards— which parents already know” so parents can better understand what their teens see on Instagram.
“We know social media isn’t the same as movies, but we made this change to support parents, and we hope to work with the MPA to continue bringing families this clarity,” the company said. Meta added that its intent was never to suggest that it partnered with the MPA or that the material on Instagram had been rated by the movie association.
Nevada
Conservative activist admits hiring private investigator who tracked mayor
Politically prominent Northern Nevada GOP activist and donor Robert Beadles has taken credit for hiring a private investigator who tracked Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve three years ago, ending a yearslong legal saga to unmask him as the client despite his attempts to remain anonymous.
Schieve and former Washoe County Commissioner Vaughn Hartung sued over the matter, alleging that tracking devices placed on their cars were an invasion of privacy. Beadles said in a statement Monday to The Nevada Independent and other media outlets that he did not tell private investigator David McNeely to track or follow anyone, but to verify allegations made against them.
“I didn’t direct the investigator’s methods, and no laws were broken by me or the investigator,” Beadles said. “I’m being painted as the villain for believing public officials should be accountable to the people they serve. I stand by that principle, and I won’t apologize for seeking the truth.”
Beadles has touted election fraud conspiracies, used his money to sow doubts about the election system in Nevada’s most significant battleground county and funded efforts to remove from power officials who disagree with his worldview while boosting hand-selected candidates who openly questioned the results of the 2020 election.
His statement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of decisions from the Washoe County District Court and the Nevada Supreme Court that required the “John Doe” who paid for the GPS tracking of Schieve and other elected Northern Nevada officials to identify himself or herself.
Scheive filed the lawsuit in 2022 after she discovered a GPS tracking device on her car. Hartung later joined her, and the two asked a judge to compel the private investigator to reveal his client.
A joint investigation between The Nevada Independent, KUNR and APM Reports indicated that at least three politicians were investigated by private detectives in 2022: Schieve, Hartung and Washoe County Commissioner Mariluz Garcia.
At the time, Nevada law did not specifically forbid the use of a GPS tracker, but the Legislature later changed that, making it a misdemeanor to unlawfully install a mobile tracking device on a vehicle. The measure passed without opposition in the 2023 legislative session.
Bill sponsor Assemblymember Jill Dickman, a Republican from Sparks, said it came in response to Schieve’s discovery of the tracker.
“Everyone I talked to was shocked that it wasn’t already illegal,” Dickman said at the time.
South Carolina
Former House member indicted on charges of defrauding clients
A former South Carolina state lawmaker has been indicted on federal allegations that he schemed to defraud his legal clients.
According to court papers, a federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted former Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, a Democrat and attorney, on 10 charges including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
Federal prosecutors said that Pendarvis, between 2022 and 2024, negotiated financial settlements on behalf of his clients, but didn’t tell them that he had received the funds. Instead, according to the government, Pendarvis — who was at the time serving as a lawmaker representing the Charleston area — allegedly pocketed the money himself, either not telling his clients the money had been obtained, or ultimately giving them lesser sums than what he had negotiated.
In all, according to prosecutors, Pendarvis deposited more half a million dollars into his law firm’s trust fund account, from which he paid nothing to clients.
A message left Wednesday with Pendarvis was not immediately returned.
Pendarvis’ law license was suspended last year after a former client accused him of forging his signature to reach a settlement in a lawsuit without his permission. The order issued then by the state Supreme Court didn’t detail why the suspension had been recommended, but the former client — whose initials matched one of the alleged victims detailed in Wednesday’s indictment — accused Pendarvis of sending him text messages asking him not to sue over the alleged forgery.
“Let’s handle this (expletive). No need to try and hurt me man. I can help you,” Pendarvis wrote Lewis in text messages filed with the state lawsuit, which is still pending.
First elected in a special election in 2017, he won three full terms before resigning from office about four months after the suspension of his law license.
According to court records, Pendarvis is slated to appear in federal court on Nov. 18.
