A court in Rome has ruled that subscription price increases applied by Netflix in Italy between 2017 and 2024 were unlawful. It orders the company to reimburse affected users and reduce its current prices.
The decision followed an injunction brought by the consumer association Movimento Consumatori against Netflix Italia. The court found that contract clauses allowing price increases were unfair because they did not specify valid reasons for the changes.
The ruling voids those clauses and orders subscription prices to revert to the company’s 2015 launch levels in Italy. That would mean €11.99 for the premium plan and €9.99 for the standard plan. The increases deemed unlawful came in 2017, 2019, 2021 and November 2024 for contracts signed before January 2024.
Lawyers representing consumers said the disputed increases amount to €8 per month for premium users and €4 per month for standard subscribers. According to their estimates, a premium customer with a continuous subscription since 2017 could receive around €500 in refunds. Likewise, a standard subscriber could be entitled to roughly €250.
The court gave Netflix 90 days to comply with notification and price-reduction obligations. Failure to do so could result in penalties. Movimento Consumatori president Alessandro Mostaccio said the group would launch a class action if the company does not reimburse customers and reduce prices.
Netflix to appeal the decision
Netflix said it would appeal the decision. “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.
The case is part of a broader European challenge to streaming price increases. In Germany, the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband has brought a similar action, and courts in Berlin and Cologne have already ruled against price changes based on generic clauses. Consumer groups in Spain have also launched comparable challenges.
The disputes centre on EU Directive 93/13/EEC, which prohibits unfair conditions in standard consumer contracts. If upheld on appeal, the Rome ruling could force streaming platforms to redesign pricing policies across Europe.
The decision came just days after Netflix announced a global price increase on 26 March, raising subscription costs across major markets.
