Shutterstock has agreed to pay $35 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company used deceptive subscription and cancellation practices that regulators say generated tens of millions of dollars in improper charges.
The case focuses on a major digital licensing platform, but the warning reaches any business using auto-renewals, cancellation fees, content packs, or recurring billing.
According to the FTC’s complaint, Shutterstock allegedly failed to clearly disclose automatic renewals, cancellation fees, and recurring billing terms tied to several subscription products and content packs. Regulators also alleged the company made cancelling subscriptions unnecessarily difficult by requiring users to contact customer support instead of allowing straightforward online cancellation.
Some Shutterstock “on-demand” content packs were marketed as suitable for “one-time projects” with “no commitment,” while allegedly renewing automatically after the final download was used. The complaint also alleges that material terms connected to annual subscriptions and cancellation penalties were buried in fine print or presented in ways consumers could easily miss during checkout.
For SaaS providers, publishers, streaming services, fintech companies, and other subscription businesses, the enforcement risk now sits inside the design of the sale itself. Regulators are looking at whether consumers saw the renewal terms, understood cancellation charges, gave informed consent, and had a simple way to leave once the subscription began.
Subscription design has become a consumer protection issue because small choices in wording, page layout, button placement, disclosure timing, and cancellation flow can affect whether a customer knowingly agrees to recurring charges. Practices once treated as retention tactics may now be tested as evidence of unfair or deceptive conduct.
The complaint alleges Shutterstock failed to obtain consumers’ express informed consent before charging credit cards for subscription renewals and content packs. Regulators further claimed consumers seeking early cancellation previously faced time-consuming processes through phone, chat, or email rather than simple online termination tools.
Cancellation friction is now one of the most sensitive areas in digital consumer protection. Companies that make sign-up fast but cancellation slow are more exposed when renewal terms, fees, or contract length are not displayed clearly before payment.
Under the FTC’s proposed order, Shutterstock would be required to maintain simple cancellation mechanisms, secure informed consent before charging consumers, and avoid misrepresenting subscription terms. The company would also pay $35 million intended to provide relief to affected consumers.
Although the complaint concerns Shutterstock’s subscription products, the same legal pressure can apply across much of the digital economy. Streaming services, software platforms, creator tools, digital media businesses, and online education providers all rely on automated renewal systems that may draw scrutiny if customers are not clearly told what they are buying and how they can cancel.
The FTC is not challenging subscription businesses themselves. Regulators are focusing on how companies present renewal terms, cancellation fees, and recurring charges before a customer agrees to pay.
Companies using recurring billing systems may now face tougher regulatory attention over checkout pages, cancellation tools, and auto-renewal disclosures that were once treated mainly as product or marketing decisions.