FTC v. Shutterstock Inc.

Shutterstock Inc. allegedly made tens of millions of dollars from a range of unfair and deceptive practices, including charging consumers for products without their informed consent and making it difficult to cancel subscriptions. The company allegedly failed to disclose important information about the terms of its plans, such as automatic renewals and cancellation fees. According to the agency's complaint, Shutterstock advertised on-demand packs as having "no commitment" but allegedly failed to adequately disclose automatic renewals. The complaint further alleges that the "plan selection" page frequently failed to clearly disclose material terms of annual paid monthly plans, including automatic renewals and cancellation fees, often burying such details in difficult-to-find fine print. The FTC charged Shutterstock with failing to clearly and conspicuously disclose material terms before billing, failing to obtain consumers' express informed consent, and failing to provide simple cancellation mechanisms.

Summary generated from official Federal Trade Commission press release