{"id":43703,"date":"2024-06-17T16:02:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T20:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=43703"},"modified":"2026-03-26T11:18:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T15:18:18","slug":"u-s-sues-adobe-over-subscriptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/17\/u-s-sues-adobe-over-subscriptions\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Sues Adobe Over Subscriptions"},"content":{"rendered":"

FTC<\/a> (PDF<\/a>, via Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n

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The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against software maker Adobe and two of its executives, Maninder Sawhney and David Wadhwani, for deceiving consumers by hiding the early termination fee for its most popular subscription plan and making it difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, when consumers purchase a subscription through the company’s website, Adobe pushes consumers to its “annual paid monthly” subscription plan, pre-selecting it as a default. Adobe prominently shows the plan’s “monthly” cost during enrollment, but it buries the early termination fee (ETF) and its amount, which is 50 percent of the remaining monthly payments when a consumer cancels in their first year. Adobe’s ETF disclosures are buried on the company’s website in small print or require consumers to hover over small icons to find the disclosures.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

In addition to failing to disclose the ETF to consumers when they subscribe, the complaint also alleges that Adobe uses the ETF to ambush consumers to deter them from cancelling their subscriptions. The complaint also alleges that Adobe’s cancellation processes are designed to make cancellation difficult for consumers. When consumers have attempted to cancel their subscription on the company’s website, they have been forced to navigate numerous pages in order to cancel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Emma Roth<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Customers encounter similar obstacles when attempting to cancel their subscriptions over the phone or via live chats, the DOJ alleges. The complaint claims “subscribers have had their calls or chats either dropped or disconnected and have had to re-explain their reason for calling when they re-connect.”<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

In 2012, Adobe went from selling its creative software for lifetime use to charging users for a monthly or yearly subscription to its suite of products, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and others. The company’s subscription model has long frustrated creatives, who are often forced to stay subscribed to Adobe in order to keep doing their jobs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Jeremy Gray<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Despite being full of passionate, talented people who genuinely care about artists, the company has earned its negative reputation. To no fault of the people who make the Adobe software that so many use daily, the company’s beleaguered customers do not trust Adobe.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n