Adobe buried a 50%-of-remaining-payments fee in small print — the FTC and DOJ sued

Adobe's default subscription option, "Annual, Paid Monthly," charged customers monthly but locked them into a full year. Cancelling before the year was up triggered an Early Termination Fee equal to 50% of the customer's remaining monthly payments — a cost the FTC and DOJ said Adobe disclosed only in small print, behind a hyperlink, or in a place a customer had to hunt for during sign-up.

On top of the fee, the complaint alleged Adobe built a cancellation process with redundant steps, unclear buttons and, at points, no way to complete the cancellation online at all, pushing customers toward calling a retention line instead. The DOJ and FTC filed a joint civil complaint on 17 June 2024 against Adobe and two executives, Maninder Sawhney and David Wadhwani, alleging violations of the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act.

Adobe reached a settlement reported in March 2026: roughly $75 million in civil penalties and consumer redress plus about $75 million in free services, without admitting wrongdoing, pending court approval. The case turned on a gap between what the checkout page implied and what the fine print actually charged.