A Rome court has found Netflix's subscription price increases between 2017 and 2024 to be unlawful, potentially entitling millions of Italian subscribers to refunds of up to €500. The streaming giant says it will appeal.
The Court of Rome upheld the injunction action brought by consumer group Movimento Consumatori against Netflix Italia over unilateral price increases.
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The judges found the clauses that allowed subscription prices to be changed between 2017 and January 2024 to be unfair and abusive.
According to the association's note, these contractual conditions are null and void because they did not indicate a justified reason for the price increases.
The ruling states that the changes made in the years 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2024 violate the rules set out in the Consumer Code.
Economic consequences for Italian viewers
The consumer association estimates that a subscriber with a premium plan active since 2017 could claim a refund of around €500. Subscribers with a standard profile, on the other hand, would be entitled to a refund of close to €250.
Lawyers Paolo Fiorio and Corrado Pinna point out that "the decision affects millions of consumers".
The decision also requires the streaming platform to reduce its current prices in order to eliminate the impact of the increases deemed illegitimate.
Alessandro Mostaccio, president of Movimento Consumatori, announced that "if Netflix does not immediately reduce prices and reimburse customers, we will start a class action lawsuit to guarantee all users the restitution of what they have unduly paid".
The other cases in Europe
The Italian ruling fits into a wider European trend. Consumer groups including Germany's vzbv federation and Spain's FACUA have already challenged the same Netflix clauses in their respective countries.
German courts in Berlin and Cologne have ruled that price changes based on generic formulas are void because they do not allow users to understand the actual reasons for cost increases.
These decisions draw on European Directive 93/13/EEC, which protects consumers against unfair contract terms that create an excessive imbalance in favour of companies.
The cumulative effect is a regulatory shift across the continent, with streaming platforms increasingly required to seek explicit consent from subscribers rather than applying automatic price increases.
The position of the streaming platform
Netflix said it would appeal the ruling, defending its pricing practices over the past seven years in Italy as transparent and compliant with local regulations.
"We will appeal the decision. At Netflix, our subscribers come first. We take consumers' rights very seriously and we believe that our conditions have always been in line with Italian regulations and practices," the company said in a statement on Friday.
