US sues Adobe for ‘deceiving’ subscriptions that are too hard to cancel | The Justice Department alleges that Adobe hid early cancellation fees and trapped consumers in pricey subscriptions

Lucidlethargy , 19 days ago

Good. FUCK Adobe. I genuinely hope the entire company fails.

AceFuzzLord , 19 days ago

I'm calling it now:

In other news Adobe forced to pay 0.001% if what they earn every day from subscriptions and still find loopholes allowing them to continue business as usual, with the US government sticking their thumbs up their ass because they can't make an example of Adobe too soon or the bribes.... I mean donations from lobbyists representing large companies will dry up.

kescusay , 19 days ago

I remember when Adobe was a cool company that built art tools. Now it seems like the art tools are an afterthought, tacked onto a money-siphoning scheme.

CurlyWurlies4All , 19 days ago

Did they ever? They bought PageMaker in 1994 and Photoshop in 1995. They bought Macromedia in 2006, GoLive, Live motion, Typekit, Behance... Is there anything they've ever bought they haven't slowly ruined with financialisation or just outright shuttering what would have been competition?

kescusay , 19 days ago

That's a good point. I gotta be honest, I'd forgotten that Adobe bought Photoshop.

CurlyWurlies4All , 19 days ago

Yeah they're kind of the ultimate monopolization machine

edwardbear , 19 days ago

My prayers are heard. I hope you burn in the lowest circles of hell, Adobe.

athairmor , 19 days ago

I assumed their HQ was moved there long ago.

ironhydroxide , 19 days ago

Yup. Though many people call it "Utah"

ripcord , 19 days ago

Is this a random Utah slam, or did they move something to Utah? As far as I know they're still in San Jose

glitches_brew , 19 days ago

They're in Utah.

ripcord , 19 days ago

They have a campus in Utah but their headquarters is in San Jose.

ironhydroxide , 19 days ago

Shittycon valley vs Shittycon slopes.
Might as well be the same thing.

ripcord , 19 days ago

Edgy

WhiskyTangoFoxtrot , 19 days ago

Adobe's name is mud these days.

TankovayaDiviziya , 19 days ago

This is why you could and should never be lazy to search how to cancel subscription.

Jaybob32 , 19 days ago

I decided to try out the new version about a year ago. I had a monthly charge of about $26 I think it was. After about 3-4 months and not really using it, I cancelled a few days before it would renew for another month. $50 early cancellation fee? Wtf do you need to cancel a few mins before or it's early cancellation?
Adobe fucking sucks ass.

JJROKCZ , 19 days ago

That’s the trick, it’s always early cancellation, there is no allowed time to stop sending them money.

penquin , 19 days ago

Any corporation that does should just go bankrupt. Seriously, will you live fine without them? Of course. Will society continue to exist? Of course. Fuck these fucking scums.

TheFeatureCreature , 19 days ago

This gives warm and fuzzy feelings.

foggy , 19 days ago

Over the barrel, please.

ForgottenFlux OP , 19 days ago

Summary:

• The US government is suing Adobe for allegedly deceiving customers with hidden fees and making it difficult to cancel subscriptions.
• The Department of Justice claims Adobe enrolls customers in its most lucrative subscription plan without clearly disclosing important plan terms.
• Adobe allegedly hides the terms of its annual, paid monthly plan in fine print and behind optional textboxes and hyperlinks.
• The company fails to properly disclose the early termination fee, which can amount to hundreds of dollars, upon cancellation.
• The cancellation process is described as "onerous and complicated", involving multiple webpages and pop-ups.
• Customers who try to cancel over the phone or via live chats face similar obstacles, including dropped or disconnected calls and having to re-explain their reason for calling.
• The lawsuit targets Adobe executives Maninder Sawhney and David Wadhwani, alleging they directed or participated in the deceptive practices.
• The federal government began investigating Adobe's cancellation practices late last year.
• Adobe's subscription model has long been a source of frustration for creatives, who feel forced to stay subscribed to continue working.
• Recently, Adobe's new terms of service were met with backlash, with some users interpreting the changes as an opportunity for Adobe to train its AI on users' art.
• The company has also faced regulatory scrutiny in the past, including antitrust scrutiny from European regulators over its attempted $20 billion acquisition of product design platform Figma in 2022, which was ultimately abandoned.