🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The government complaint named executives and laid out alleged ‘dark patterns’

• The U.S. government’s June 2024 complaint named two Adobe executives, David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s digital media business, and Maninder Sawhney, an Adobe vice president, as individual defendants 1.
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has increasingly named both companies and, at times, individuals in enforcement actions tied to alleged deceptive subscription sign-up and cancellation practices 2.
• The suit alleged Adobe’s default “annual paid monthly” plan hid an early termination fee (ETF) equal to 50% of the remaining monthly payments when a customer cancels in the first year 3.
• The complaint said the fee sat in small print or appeared only through hover-over icons, then hit customers as an “ambush” during cancellation attempts 3.

Adobe’s settlement puts more focus on subscription cancellation practices

• The action fits a wider government push against “junk fees” and deceptive online designs often called “dark patterns” 4.
• The case has served as a warning for subscription businesses, amid criticism that some companies tuck important terms behind hard-to-notice hyperlinks 5.
• Separate from the government case, Adobe has faced private consumer claims, including individual arbitration claims and putative class actions (lawsuits filed on behalf of a proposed group), which could add legal exposure 6.
• The dispute adds to legal pressure on subscription models, as user-interface design and cancellation steps face more regulator and litigation attention 7.