Charted: Adobe hit by FTC suit
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Adobe products are just too hard to quit, according to an FTC lawsuit.
Zoom in: In a suit filed today by the DOJ on behalf of the regulator, the FTC alleges Adobe "trapped" unwitting customers into annual subscriptions for its popular software products like Acrobat, Photoshop and Illustrator with a payment plan that appeared to be a monthly one.
- It further alleges that when customers tried to cancel subscriptions, Adobe made it difficult — with no direct process on its website and inflicting unnecessary delays with customer service.
Adobe said it would refute the FTC's claims in court.
💠Our thought bubble, from Axios' Ashley Gold: The FTC has been warning companies that they're going after practices that keep customers locked into services and won't tolerate unclear terms of service that dissuade switching. Businesses like Adobe should be wary of these tactics going forward, especially since the FTC is naming executives in its actions.
The big picture: The civil suit hits Adobe just days after it projected strong future sales from some of those same products, sending its shares to their biggest intraday jump in over four years Friday.
