Hidden 'early termination fee', Adobe is sued by US regulators for difficult cancellation of subscriptions

According to news from this website on June 18, the U.S. Department of Justice has recently added a new member to a series of high-profile lawsuits against technology giants. Adobe, a well-known software company, has been criticized for its subscription service cancellation process and has become the latest target. This site has noticed that the Department of Justice believes that Adobe’s approach is equivalent to “tricking” users into subscribing, and has formally filed a lawsuit against the company.

Today’s filing by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lists multiple accusations against Adobe. Here are some of the key contents:

For years, Adobe has unknowingly signed users up to default subscription packages that were most beneficial to the company without clearly disclosing the relevant important terms. For example, when users choose the "Annual, Paid Monthly / APM" subscription package, they are not informed that this is a one-year subscription plan, and that early termination will result in a huge "early termination" fee. ETFs, which can cost hundreds of dollars. Adobe only explicitly discloses this fee when a user attempts to cancel a subscription, turning this hidden fee into a powerful retention tool that locks users into a subscription they no longer need.

During the user registration process, Adobe hides important terms about the APM package behind small fonts, optional text boxes, and hyperlinks. This disclosure information is not easy to detect and most users will not see it at all. . Additionally, Adobe discourages users from unsubscribing through a cumbersome and complicated cancellation process. During this process, when users try to cancel their subscription, Adobe suddenly informs them of a previously hidden “early termination fee.” Through these tactics, Adobe violated federal laws that protect consumers.

As can be seen from the quoted text, the document does not shy away from using strong language to highlight Adobe’s alleged misconduct.

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