FTC Sues Adobe for Allegedly ‘Trapping’ Customers Into Annual Plans

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against tech firm Adobe for allegedly forcing consumers to continue their subscriptions by threatening to impose hefty fees if they tried to cancel the plans. The lawsuit was filed on June 17 at the U.S. District Court Northern District of California against Adobe and two of its executives. It alleges the company has “harmed consumers by enrolling them in its default, most lucrative subscription plan without clearly disclosing important plan terms.” When consumers sign up for Adobe’s “Annual, Paid Monthly” (APM) subscription plan, the company “fails to adequately disclose” that the individuals were agreeing to a year-long commitment, the lawsuit states. If the consumers cancel their APM plan before the term runs out, they will be charged a hefty early termination fee (ETF) that can run into hundreds of dollars....