Stand up to Corporate Greed

Why Are We Letting This Happen?

Somewhere along the way, American consumers were conditioned to believe that corporate deception is simply the cost of living in a digital world. But it shouldn’t be normal and it certainly shouldn’t be legal for companies to mislead, trap, and financially exploit hardworking families with no consequences.

My recent experience with Video AI by InVideo is a perfect example of how far this problem has spread.

At first, the platform disguises itself as a friendly partner even appearing to be connected to reputable AI tools many of us rely on. You’re invited to create a “cutting-edge” and “professional” video, supposedly free, just like countless tools that let you test a feature before paying. But this is where the trap is set.

After walking through every prompt, uploading content, and investing your time, you’re hit with a locked screen. The video you were promised can’t be viewed unless you provide a credit card. The price shown is $30 for a month. But with one quick Apple Pay confirmation, the charge fires through not $30, but over $330 for a full year.

And when you finally access the video?
It’s nothing more than a few random images and generic narration — not remotely close to the “legendary” production they sold you. You’re left with a disappointing product and an expensive annual subscription you didn’t knowingly authorize.

Trying to resolve the issue is even worse.
You spend hours navigating Apple’s support lines, only to hit a dead end with InVideo itself. Their “support” leads to automated emails and a refund form you can’t even access unless you first agree to terms written in a way that shields them from responsibility. This is not customer service it’s a barrier designed to wear you down.

And here’s the bigger, uncomfortable truth:

This type of deception is becoming standard practice for tech companies.

Not because it’s ethical.
Not because consumers want it.
But because it’s profitable.

Venture-backed companies are pressured to show rapid growth. Clear prices, fair trials, and honest cancellation policies don’t deliver the same numbers that confusion, hidden fees, and friction-filled refund processes do. As long as executives can point to rising revenue, very few investors ask how ethically that revenue was earned.

This raises the obvious question:
How is this legal?

The short answer is: America’s consumer-protection laws haven’t caught up to modern digital manipulation.

“Dark-pattern design” interfaces intentionally built to trick or trap users exists in a gray zone. The Federal Trade Commission can punish “deceptive practices,” but enforcement is slow, understaffed, and often reactive. Meanwhile, subscription scams, unclear pricing, and misleading sign-ups continue extracting billions from ordinary families who don’t have the time or legal knowledge to fight back.

Which leads to the most important point:

We must start holding CEOs accountable for the behavior of their companies.

Whether Sanket Shah, the CEO of InVideo, began with good intentions or not is almost irrelevant now. What matters is that his company’s business model and user experience result in real financial harm. Leadership cannot celebrate revenue generated through tactics that confuse and mislead customers and then hide behind fine print when questioned.

If Walmart misled its customers like this, it wouldn’t have survived a decade.
If a local business tried these tactics, it would be shut down.

Yet tech companies especially AI-adjacent platforms operate with stunning impunity. They quietly siphon money from millions of people, one “accidental annual subscription” at a time, and very few ever face consequences.

This is not a partisan issue.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re conservative, liberal, or somewhere in between. Every American consumer deserves honesty. Every family deserves transparency. And every CEO should be responsible for the business practices they profit from.

Corporate greed isn’t new.
But the digital version of it dressed up as innovation and convenience — is becoming more dangerous because it’s so much harder to see until it’s too late.

It’s time we stop accepting deception as an acceptable business model.
It’s time we demand accountability.
And it’s time American consumers stop paying the price for corporate tricks disguised as technology.