I purchased a new copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9; for me, this is an update from Elements 3. After installing the software, the launch and registration window demands: 1) that the user register and sign in with Adobe; and, 2) provide a complete birth date (day, month, year). There is no way to opt-out of this requirement, according to the support representative ("Vince") with whom I spoke.


Adobe is now requiring that purchasers of Photoshop give personal information (complete birthdate) for use of their product (Elements 9) without prior notification--i.e., after purchase. This is in addition to the required registration information (which IS noticed by Adobe in its online privacy policy). By combining information (some posted before purchase, some after purchase), Adobe compiles a profile on their users which violates both federal and California State consumer laws.

The product packaging does NOT indicate anywhere that the purchaser must provide a complete birth date to use the product. This is illegal, and I have requested a refund. It is not noticed anywhere in their privacy policy (www.adobe.com/go/activation). This violates the 2004 California Online Protection Act (http://leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&group=22001-23000&file=22575-22579). Under the terms of this Act, corporations doing business in California via the internet (like Adobe) that request/require personal data such as complete birth dates (and even just names and addresses, etc.) must provide customers with a legal privacy statement that details how information is acquired, utilized, and stored. Moreover, this must be done BEFORE a purchase it made. Here is a useful summary of the business requirements: http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/CAPrivProtAct.htm.

Adobe's illegal activity--combined with its Big Brother encroachment on personal privacy--is indicative of the company's trampling of personal and civil rights and needs to be legally challenged.