US government sues Adobe for deceiving and trapping people with subscriptions

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has sued Adobe, alleging the company has deceived consumers by trying to hide ways of canceling subscriptions.

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The new lawsuit alleges Adobe has harmed consumers by enrolling them in a subscription plan that doesn't adequately inform consumers of the plans terms, and through this agreement the company then unfairly push customers to the "annual paid monthly" subscription, which if they canceled within the first year would result in them being billed for hundreds of dollars. The particular point the DOJ is concentrating on here is the early termination feeds that Adobe only discloses when a subscriber tries to cancel a subscription.

The lawsuit states Adobe has turned its early-termination free into a "powerful retention tool" that traps consumers. Moreover, the DOJ lawsuit says Adobe has purposely hidden details of the subscription cancellation stipulations behind hyperlinks and option textboxes, which the DOJ alleges proves "that are designed to go unnoticed and that most consumers never see."

"Adobe then deters cancellations by employing an onerous and complicated cancellation process."

Adobe has announced it will fight the claims by the DOJ in court, and that it's terms and conditions with its subscription plans, along with its cancellation process has been "transparent".

"Subscription services are convenient, flexible and cost effective to allow users to choose the plan that best fits their needs, timeline and budget," said Adobe's General Counsel and Chief Trust Officer Dana Rao, in a statement. "Our priority is to always ensure our customers have a positive experience. We are transparent with the terms and conditions of our subscription agreements and have a simple cancellation process."

The government is looking for "injunctive relief, civil penalties, equitable monetary relief, as well as other relief."