Sharing an update on changes and clarifications coming to Adobe's Terms of Use to address customer concerns. As technology evolves, so must our Terms of Use. Learn more: https://t.co/NYx1LjAYPd pic.twitter.com/Ci1IX6XCpZ
— Adobe (@Adobe) June 10, 2024
Adobe has announced that it will update its terms of service to clarify that the company will never train generative AI on creators’ content. This comes after significant backlash from customers who threatened to cancel their Adobe subscriptions over vague and potentially exploitative terms. The controversy started when an Adobe pop-up informed users of updates to the terms of use.
The Adobe blow-up over the last few days seems to have largely been a misunderstanding — but it's a good window into how consumer concerns about AI are crashing head-first into Silicon Valley's eager embrace of the tech. My latest for @Inc:https://t.co/pLeCykazAB
— Brian Contreras (@_B_Contreras_) June 10, 2024
The new terms seemed to give Adobe broad permissions to access user content, take ownership of it, or potentially use it to train AI. Users had to agree to these terms to keep using Adobe apps, which disrupted access to ongoing projects for many creatives. Those who didn’t want to accept faced cancellation fees that could be up to 50 percent of their remaining subscription costs.
YouTuber Sasha Yanshin openly criticized the new terms and canceled his Adobe license.
Sharing an update coming to Adobe's terms of use next week. As technology evolves, every co's terms of use must also evolve to directly address new concerns on creators' minds. We should have done this sooner, but team is committed to getting it right.https://t.co/fxtXjsMevI
— scott belsky (@scottbelsky) June 10, 2024
Adobe addresses AI training concerns
He said that “no creator in their right mind can accept” the company’s terms, which appeared to claim a “worldwide royalty-free license to reproduce, display, distribute,” and essentially seize control over any content made using Adobe software.
“I think Adobe slipped this in like a raptor testing the fences. And they got shocked… this time.” https://t.co/VQuxVKrUV0
— MZS (@mattzollerseitz) June 11, 2024
Scott Belsky, Adobe’s Chief Product Officer and EVP of Creative Cloud, responded to the criticism by engaging directly with users on social media. He said that the terms were written over a decade ago and needed to be updated to address modern concerns clearly. Belsky assured users that Adobe was working on making necessary clarifications.
In a blog post, Adobe committed to updating its terms by June 18, following a week of user feedback. “We’ve never trained generative AI on customer content, taken ownership of a customer’s work, or allowed access to customer content beyond legal requirements,” the post stated. “Nor were we considering any of those practices as part of the recent Terms of Use update.
That said, we agree that evolving our Terms of Use to reflect our commitments to our community is the right thing to do.”
The upcoming updates aim to restore user trust by explicitly outlining Adobe’s use of customer content and ensuring that their rights are protected.
April Isaacs is a news contributor for DevX.com She is long-term, self-proclaimed nerd. She loves all things tech and computers and still has her first Dreamcast system. It is lovingly named Joni, after Joni Mitchell.
