Shutterstock to Pay $35M to Settle FTC Allegations
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: May 13 2026
0mins
Shutterstock will pay $35M to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company "illegally 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 FTC said in a statement. According to the agency's complaint, Shutterstock advertised its on-demand packs as "Best for a one-time project," with "no commitment,: but failed to adequately disclose that these packs automatically renewed when the last download in the pack was used.
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Analyst Views on SSTK
Wall Street analysts forecast SSTK stock price to rise
2 Analyst Rating
0 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Hold
Current: 15.540
Low
28.85
Averages
28.85
High
28.85
Current: 15.540
Low
28.85
Averages
28.85
High
28.85
No data
About SSTK
Shutterstock, Inc. is a global creative platform connecting brands and businesses to high-quality content. Its platform brings together users and contributors of content by providing readily searchable content that customers pay for licenses and by compensating contributors as their content is licensed. Contributors upload their content to the Company’s Web properties in exchange for royalty payments based on customer download activity. It offers licenses to metadata associated with the Company’s images, footage, music tracks and 3D models through the Company’s data offering, distribution and advertising services from the Company’s Giphy business, which consists of graphics interchange format visuals (GIFs). It offers specialized solutions for content matched with production tools and services through Shutterstock Studios. Its content offering includes images consisting of photographs, vectors and illustrations and footage consisting of video clips and cinema-grade video effects.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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See More
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See More
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