Adobe to Offer $75M in Free Services to Settle Government Lawsuit

Adobe Inc. will pay about $150 million to settle a complaint from U.S. regulators that the creative software company made it too difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions.

Of the total, $75 million will be spent giving free services to affected customers, and the rest will be paid to the U.S. Department of Justice, Adobe said in a statement Friday.

The lawsuit came in June 2024, when regulators alleged that Adobe pushed users toward annual subscriptions to its creative software such as Photoshop, which contained hidden termination fees and cancellation hurdles.

“While we disagree with the government’s claims and deny any wrongdoing, we are pleased to resolve this matter,” Adobe said in the statement. The company’s subscription plans carry a simple cancellation process, which has been made “even more streamlined and transparent” in recent years, it said.

Separately, this week Adobe announced that longtime CEO Shantanu Narayen will step down once a successor is picked. The company has faced steep Wall Street skepticism in the age of artificial intelligence.

Top photo: The Adobe offices in San Francisco. Bloomberg.