GoKawiilA Rome court has ruled that the price hikes Netflix imposed on subscribers in Italy in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2024 were unlawful. The court ordered Netflix to refund affected customers by up to 500 euros (about $576), depending on their plan.
The lawsuit was brought by Italian consumer advocacy group Movimento Consumatori, which alleged that the price hikes violate the Consumer Code, Italian legislation that aims to protect consumer rights. The Consumer Code says it’s unlawful for a “professional to unilaterally modify the clauses of the contract, or the characteristics of the product or service to be provided, without a justified reason indicated in the contract itself,” according to a Google-provided translation.
The court’s April 1 ruling determined that Netflix’s contracts were required to explain in advance why prices or other terms might change in the future.
Because the price hikes were found to be imposed without providing customers with valid justifications, the court ruled that the new prices are invalid and ordered Netflix to refund affected subscribers. This comes despite Netflix reportedly providing a 30-day advance notice of the higher fees and allowing customers to cancel their subscriptions to avoid price hikes.
In a joint statement provided by Movimento Consumatori, assisting attorneys Paolo Fiorio and Corrado Pinna said, per a Google-provided translation:
For the premium plan, the unlawful increases applied in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2024 currently amount to a total of €8 per month, while for the standard plan, the increases currently amount to a total of €4 per month. A premium customer who has paid Netflix continuously from 2017 to today is entitled to a refund of approximately €500, while a standard customer is entitled to a refund of approximately 250 euros. The unlawful increases also affect the basic plan, which saw a 2-euro increase in October 2024.
The court gave Netflix 90 days to inform millions of current and former customers via email, mail, its website, and Italian newspapers of their right to refunds or else face a penalty of 700 euros per day, Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reported today. In August, AGCOM, Italy’s communications authority, said that Netflix had 8.3 million unique users in Q1 2025. In today’s announcement, Movimento Consumatori said Netflix is estimated to have had 5.4 million customers in October.