Fetch the popcorn: US government sues Adobe, says it's 'trapped' consumers with a subs model that's 'absurdly hard to cancel' and 'ambushed' them with late fees

In news that will delight any user of Photoshop, the US government is suing Adobe for allegedly harming consumers by «enrolling them in its default, most lucrative subscription plan without clearly disclosing important plan terms.» 

The complaint from the Department of Justice (DoJ) claims that Adobe «hides» the true cost of its subscriptions in fine print, «behind optional textboxes and hyperlinks,” and deliberately makes cancelling a subscription „onerous and complicated“ before it „ambushes“ customers with termination fees.

The complaint further alleges that calls or live chats with Adobe support are often „either dropped or disconnected“, breaking federal law, and then it takes aim at the executive suite. Maninder Sawhney, an Adobe vice-president, and David Wadhwani, president of digital media business, are named as having „directed, controlled, had the authority to control, or participated in the acts and practices of Adobe.“

Adobe moved to a subscription-only business model in 2012 for its software suite, which is widely used both in the creative industries and by individuals. An Adobe „Creative cloud“ subscription grants access to software including Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere, and more. 

»[The FTC] has taken action against Adobe and two executives for pushing people into subscriptions and then making it absurdly hard to cancel," writes FTC chair Linda Khan. «Adobe ambushed users with hefty 'early termination fees' and threw up obstacles when people tried to cancel.

»Adobe knew its policies made it extraordinarily difficult and frustrating for users who wanted to cancel their subscriptions [...] One person wrote 'Adobe literally will not let me cancel my subscription.' Because two senior executives were involved in overseeing, directing, controlling, or participating in Adobe's illegal business practices, they are named in the complaint."

The complaint has been filed in federal court in the Northern District of California by the DoJ,