Adobe’s In Some Trouble
Ever since Adobe switched to a subscription model many years ago, people have loved to hate them. I mean, at one point, you couldn’t say nice things online about any of their software applications without being set upon by a virtual mob. I’ve never had a huge problem with the subscription model though, and it allows me to afford to use their whole suite of applications which I would never otherwise afford. They often don’t do themselves any favours in the PR department, though. And hot off the heels of their recent PR disaster with the badly worded revisions to their Terms and Conditions, they’re now being sued for the way they handle subscriptions bye the US government.
The gist of the complaint is that Adobe is “trapping” customers in subscriptions with hidden fees and opaque subscription terms, and making it hard for subscribers to unsubscribe. Basically, as I understand it, you have a minimum subscription term of a year when you subscribe to Adobe products, much like a cellphone contract, and if you cancel in the first year you have to pay a cancellation fee. The allegation is that this isn't clear from the subscription terms. The complaint also alleges that Adobe has made it too difficult to actually cancel a subscription (fees aside) requiring multiple steps, and a “convoluted process”. This has always been a bit questionable, but it’s been the case since 2012 so not sure why they’re only coming to this now?
Since Adobe switched to a subscription model, it’s become more and more common among software companies. However, I don’t know of any other software subscription that ties you into a year like Adobe does, but there are other services that do this — such as iStock’s subscriptions.
Given the pace of the US justice system, this will probably take years to fully resolve, but it will be fascinating to see how it pans out. I would imagine if the courts eventually find against Adobe, it will have interesting implications for other companies who have year long contracts. Will it affect subscriptions in general? Will it impact cellphone companies? Time will tell.
Incidentally, I made the cover image for this post with firefly because it seemed like an appropriate thing to do!
Via the BBC
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