Adobe Lawsuit: The Hidden-Fee and Cancellation Settlement

What the Government Alleged

In June 2024 the US Department of Justice, on behalf of the FTC, sued Adobe over its subscription practices. The core allegation was that Adobe steered customers into an “annual, paid monthly” plan — presented as flexible, month-to-month billing — while burying the fact that canceling early triggered a hefty early-termination fee of up to half the remaining year. The suit said the fee was hidden in fine print and behind hyperlinks, and that canceling was made deliberately difficult.

An internal remark cited in the case likened the sticky early-termination fee to a way of keeping revenue that customers did not realize they were committed to.

The $150 Million Settlement

Adobe agreed to a $150 million settlement to resolve the claims: reported as a $75 million civil penalty plus $75 million in benefits or free services to customers, along with requirements to disclose fees clearly and simplify cancellation. Adobe did not admit wrongdoing. The case is part of a broad regulatory crackdown on “dark patterns” and hard-to-cancel subscriptions.

For a company whose revenue rests on recurring subscriptions, clear-disclosure and easy-cancel requirements are the substantive part of the remedy.

What Subscribers Should Know

If you were charged an Adobe early-termination fee, watch for any court-approved customer-benefit process from the settlement and verify it only through official channels. More broadly, on any “annual, paid monthly” plan, the question to ask before signing is what it costs to leave early — that is exactly the term the case says Adobe obscured.