Adobe Agrees to $150 Million Settlement Over Alleged Subscription Practices

In a win for video editors and creatives of all types, Adobe and the Department of Justice have issued statements regarding the settlement of alleged violations of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) stemming from the company's subscription practices.

Adobe, while still denying any wrongdoing, has agreed to provide $75 million in services to customers who qualify. Here’s what you need to know about this news and the eventual paybacks.

Adobe Settles Lawsuit With DOJ

In two different statements issued by Adobe (which you can read here) and the DOJ (which you can read here), we can begin to get a full picture of this settlement and what it means for both sides—as well as, most importantly, what it will mean for Adobe users, professional video editors, and other creatives.

To start, here’s a statement from Adobe:

“Adobe’s mission is empowering everyone to create. To support that mission, we are committed to delivering the best products alongside flexible offerings that meet the diverse needs of our customers. Our subscription model was designed to accelerate innovation while making our technology more accessible — enabling us to deliver continuous updates, cloud-based features and new services at a more affordable price.”

And a statement from the DOJ:

“Consumers should not have to navigate a digital maze to cancel a subscription,” said U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California. “We will continue to hold responsible any company that uses deceptive business practices to harm the consumer.”

What’s Next?

The litigation for this issue was filed all the way back in the summer of 2024, so it’s taken a pretty long time (but perhaps a short time in legal circles) for this agreement to be reached. While Adobe is still denying any wrongdoing, the company is agreeing to pay $150 million, half of which will be paid to the DOJ and half of which will be used to provide free services to customers who qualify.

We don’t have any more info just yet on which Adobe customers might qualify for this, nor do we have info on what those customers might be able to get if they’ve decided to move on from Adobe entirely.

The hopeful, biggest takeaway from this litigation is that Adobe, and companies like Adobe, will step up and just give their customers clear disclosure of important subscription information and provide subscribers with simple and direct ways to cancel if they should so choose.

We’ll keep you updated as this story develops and share more info on how these free services might eventually be offered by Adobe to qualified users.