Adobe Will Pay $75M in Free Services in DOJ Subscription Cancellation Case Settlement

Adobe has reached a deal with the US Department of Justice to settle the government’s case alleging the creative software giant made it purposefully difficult to cancel its services in violation of consumer protection laws. 

The DOJ brought its case against Adobe back in 2024 after a recommendation from the Federal Trade Commission. The DOJ’s initial filing said Adobe “harmed consumers by enrolling them in its default, most lucrative subscription plan without clearly disclosing important plan terms.” The case included complaints from Adobe customers who said they encountered hidden cancellation fees and had their phone calls dropped or endlessly transferred when trying to cancel their subscriptions. 

Adobe agreed to pay $75 million to the Department of Justice and an additional $75 million worth of free service to its customers.  

“The Justice Department will strongly oppose any attempt to harm Americans with deceptive and unfair business practices,” said assistant attorney general Brett Shumate, in a DOJ statement.

Adobe declined to answer specific questions about how the settlement payment process will be handled, saying in a public statement that the company will “proactively” reach out to customers after the legal filings are done. It added: “While we disagree with the government’s claims and deny any wrongdoing, we are pleased to resolve this matter.”

This news comes one day after Shantanu Narayen announced he would be stepping down as CEO after 18 years in the role once a successor is named. Narayen will keep his spot on Adobe’s board. Adobe’s stock briefly dipped at the announcement, hours after posting better-than-expected Q1 results.

Over the past few years, Adobe has heavily integrated generative AI into Photoshop, Lightroom and its other editing programs. Its in-house AI efforts have produced image, video and audio tools in a suite of models called Adobe Firefly. However, a lot of artists, designers and illustrators have grave concerns about the legality, ethics and artistic abilities of AI.