Regulators are finally investigating how to cancel your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription because you're imposing such messed up rules on users.

It has been reported that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States is investigating how to cancel Creative Cloud, a service that allows you to use Adobe's software on a subscription basis.

Difficulty Canceling Adobe Subscriptions Under Fire From FTC - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-13/difficulty-canceling-adobe-subscriptions-under-fire-from-ftc

Adobe Says Significant Costs, Penalties May Arise Out of FTC Investigation - MarketWatch
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/adobe-says-significant-costs-penalties-may-arise-out-of-ftc-investigation-5990ff37

In order to use Adobe's Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, etc., you need to register for a monthly paid subscription with Creative Cloud. However, if you choose to cancel this subscription plan, you must cancel within two weeks of purchasing the subscription to receive a full refund, or you will be required to pay pro-rated fees if later.

There have also been reports that even if you try to cancel your contract, you are not able to do so immediately and try to prevent you from canceling by threatening to lower your fees.

It was time to renew my Adobe Creative Cloud, so I pretended to cancel my subscription again, and they gave me a half price discount again this year. pic.twitter.com/xFBcPmU49T

— Woji (@Woggieeee) June 2, 2022

When I was looking for the cancellation screen for Creative Cloud, I suddenly saw a half price offer... Adobe is like that! ! pic.twitter.com/7b81Otg6eu

— takejune (@takejune) July 4, 2023

It has also been reported that when you apply for a Creatie Cloud trial, you are agreeing to the start of an annual contract, and even if you realize this later and try to cancel your registration, you will be subject to a cancellation fee of approximately 20,000 yen.

Adobe's awful dark pattern. When you sign up for a 7-day free trial of Adobe Creative Cloud, you automatically agree to an annual contract. What's more, the cancellation fee is half the annual fee (about 20,000 yen). This notice is written in a minimal font, and the UI has no visible scrollbars. https://t.co/2yOlVRj2Iy

— Yusuke Shinyama (@mootastic) February 6, 2022

Adobe's methods have been flooded with complaints from customers, and it seems that the FTC has finally launched an investigation. The FTC is proposing a rule in March 2023 that says 'consumers must be able to cancel a subscription as easily as they sign up for it.' President Joe Biden posted a post saying, 'Too often, companies make it difficult to cancel subscription services, leaving Americans wasting time and money on things they don't want or need.' did.

Too often, companies make it difficult to unsubscribe from a service, wasting Americans' time and money on things they may not want or need.

I support @FTC 's proposal requiring companies to fix this.

It shouldn't be harder to cancel a service than it was to subscribe for it. https://t.co/4EzRGGUBDo

— President Biden (@POTUS) March 23, 2023

Adobe has been working with the FTC since June 2022 seeking information about its practices to restore online customer trust, according to a regulatory filing. The FTC apparently warned Adobe in November 2023 that ``Adobe has the authority to enter into consent negotiations to determine whether a settlement can be reached regarding the investigation of these matters.'' We believe that our actions comply with the law.'

In addition, Adobe is being investigated by regulatory authorities in the US, EU, and UK for violating antitrust laws regarding its announcement that it will acquire the design management tool ``Figma'' for $20 billion (approximately 2.8 trillion yen). It has been reported that.

It turns out that EU regulators plan to file a lawsuit for violation of antitrust laws regarding Adobe's 3 trillion yen acquisition of Figma - GIGAZINE

Please note that Adobe will report financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023 (September to November) and fiscal year 2023 on December 13, 2023. Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $5.05 billion (approximately 718 billion yen), an increase of 12% year-on-year, operating income (GAAP basis) was $1.74 billion (approximately 247 billion yen), and net income ( (GAAP basis) was $1.48 billion (approximately 210 billion yen). In addition, Adobe says that total revenue for the full year of 2023 will be 19.41 billion dollars (about 2.76 trillion yen), 10% from the previous year, ``achieving record revenue.''

Adobe Reports Record Q4 and Fiscal 2023 Revenue | Business Wire
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231213946803/en/

◆Forum now open
A forum related to this article has been set up on the GIGAZINE official Discord server . Anyone can write freely, so please feel free to comment! If you do not have a Discord account, please create one by referring to the article explaining how to create an account!

• Discord | 'Have you ever been held back when canceling your subscription?' | GIGAZINE
https://discord.com/channels/1037961069903216680/1184785967777861652