Adobe has had a few problems over the last week. Most notably the uproar over the changes in their terms of use of their apps. But they now have a new problem that they need to worry about. The US Justice Department is suing them:
The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced a civil enforcement action against Adobe Inc. and two Adobe executives, Maninder Sawhney and David Wadhwani, for alleged violations of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). The lawsuit alleges that the defendants imposed a hidden “Early Termination Fee” on millions of online subscribers and that Adobe forced subscribers to navigate a complex and challenging cancellation process designed to deter them from cancelling subscriptions they no longer wanted.
Adobe Inc. is a software company that offers online subscriptions to design and productivity software applications via its website, Adobe.com. David Wadhwani is Adobe’s President of Digital Media Business, and Maninder Sawhney is Adobe’s Vice President of Digital Go to Market & Sales.
According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the defendants have systematically violated ROSCA by using fine print and inconspicuous hyperlinks to hide important information about Adobe’s subscription plans, including about a hefty Early Termination Fee that customers may be charged when they cancel their subscriptions. The complaint alleges that for years, Adobe has profited from this hidden fee, misleading consumers about the true costs of a subscription and ambushing them with the fee when they try to cancel, wielding the fee as a powerful retention tool.
The complaint alleges that Adobe has further violated ROSCA by failing to provide consumers with a simple mechanism to cancel their recurring, online subscriptions. Instead, Adobe allegedly protects its subscription revenues by thwarting subscribers’ attempts to cancel, subjecting them to a convoluted and inefficient cancellation process filled with unnecessary steps, delays, unsolicited offers and warnings.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified amounts of consumer redress and monetary civil penalties from the defendants, as well as a permanent injunction to prohibit them from engaging in future violations.
I have heard stories about it being difficult to cancel Adobe subscriptions. I guess that this lawsuit confirms that. Which is bad news for Adobe. You have to wonder if this combined with their other issues will send customers to the exits. I’m sure Adobe will deny the charges and say they will fight this. But honestly, how many battles can one company fight at the same time?
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This entry was posted on June 18, 2024 at 9:09 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Adobe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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US Justice Department Sues Adobe Over Subscriptions
Adobe has had a few problems over the last week. Most notably the uproar over the changes in their terms of use of their apps. But they now have a new problem that they need to worry about. The US Justice Department is suing them:
The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced a civil enforcement action against Adobe Inc. and two Adobe executives, Maninder Sawhney and David Wadhwani, for alleged violations of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). The lawsuit alleges that the defendants imposed a hidden “Early Termination Fee” on millions of online subscribers and that Adobe forced subscribers to navigate a complex and challenging cancellation process designed to deter them from cancelling subscriptions they no longer wanted.
Adobe Inc. is a software company that offers online subscriptions to design and productivity software applications via its website, Adobe.com. David Wadhwani is Adobe’s President of Digital Media Business, and Maninder Sawhney is Adobe’s Vice President of Digital Go to Market & Sales.
According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the defendants have systematically violated ROSCA by using fine print and inconspicuous hyperlinks to hide important information about Adobe’s subscription plans, including about a hefty Early Termination Fee that customers may be charged when they cancel their subscriptions. The complaint alleges that for years, Adobe has profited from this hidden fee, misleading consumers about the true costs of a subscription and ambushing them with the fee when they try to cancel, wielding the fee as a powerful retention tool.
The complaint alleges that Adobe has further violated ROSCA by failing to provide consumers with a simple mechanism to cancel their recurring, online subscriptions. Instead, Adobe allegedly protects its subscription revenues by thwarting subscribers’ attempts to cancel, subjecting them to a convoluted and inefficient cancellation process filled with unnecessary steps, delays, unsolicited offers and warnings.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified amounts of consumer redress and monetary civil penalties from the defendants, as well as a permanent injunction to prohibit them from engaging in future violations.
I have heard stories about it being difficult to cancel Adobe subscriptions. I guess that this lawsuit confirms that. Which is bad news for Adobe. You have to wonder if this combined with their other issues will send customers to the exits. I’m sure Adobe will deny the charges and say they will fight this. But honestly, how many battles can one company fight at the same time?
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This entry was posted on June 18, 2024 at 9:09 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Adobe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.