The Federal Trade Commission has announced a $35 million settlement with Shutterstock over allegations that the company used deceptive subscription practices, including misleading consumers about billing terms and making cancellation unnecessarily difficult. The action is the latest in the FTC’s broader campaign against so-called “dark patterns” — interface designs or workflows that steer consumers into purchases, renewals, or ongoing charges they may not have knowingly agreed to.

At a high level, the case reflects a familiar enforcement theory: regulators are focusing not just on what companies disclose, but on how those disclosures are presented and whether consumers can realistically avoid or end recurring charges.

The Federal Trade Commission has sued Uber over its Uber One subscription program, alleging the company enrolled consumers without valid consent, failed to deliver promised savings, and made cancellation more difficult than advertised. The case, now pending in the Northern District of California, puts one of the country’s most visible subscription products at the center of the FTC’s ongoing campaign against so-called “dark patterns” in online commerce.

According to the agency, Uber used deceptive interfaces and billing practices to sign users up for Uber One and then created unnecessary friction when they tried to cancel.