LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator has launched an investigation into Photoshop maker Adobe to examine whether its early cancellation fees were unfair and misleading, the watchdog said on Thursday.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will look at whether customers are given "clear and timely information upfront" about early cancellation fees, which are likely to influence their decision to purchase the product, it said.
Adobe's products, such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Adobe Premiere, are widely used by consumers to create and edit content such as photographs and videos.
"From students to content creators, millions of people rely on digital design tools - and they should feel confident that businesses selling these services play by the rules," Emma Cochrane, the CMA's Executive Director for Consumer Protection, said in the statement.
The probe comes less than a week after Adobe reached a $150 million settlement to resolve a U.S. government lawsuit accusing it of harming consumers by concealing hefty termination fees and making it difficult to cancel subscriptions.