Adobe Settles DOJ Suit with $75M Payment, Services

Adobe has agreed to pay $75 million to the U.S. Department of Justice and provide an additional $75 million in free services to affected customers to settle a federal lawsuit accusing the company of violating consumer protection laws through deceptive subscription practices.

The settlement, announced Friday and filed in federal court, resolves a complaint originally filed in June 2024. The Justice Department, acting on a referral from the Federal Trade Commission, alleged that Adobe concealed early termination fees in its "annual paid monthly" plans for Creative Cloud software, including popular tools like Photoshop and Acrobat. These fees, which could amount to 50 percent of the remaining subscription balance and reach hundreds of dollars, were often buried in fine print, hyperlinks, or separate website sections, the lawsuit claimed. Customers attempting to cancel faced additional hurdles, such as navigating multiple online pages or encountering delays and resistance from customer service representatives over the phone, including transfers between departments and dropped calls.

The practices targeted Adobe's shift to a subscription-only model, which began in 2013 and now...