A Rome courtroom has dominated that Netflix value hikes in Italy are unlawful. The choice sides with a shopper advocacy group which claims the streaming big broke native guidelines by elevating costs to its service between 2017 and 2024 and stated prospects are entitled to a refund.
The Rome ruling comes days after Netflix introduced on March 26 that it was elevating costs for its three plans within the U.S. for the second time in slightly over a yr.
In a press release, Netflix stated it’ll enchantment the April 1 Rome courtroom choice that doesn’t have any instant impact.
Italy’s Movimento Consumatori shopper advocacy group stated in a press release the Rome courtroom had dominated in its favor as a result of it thought of Netflix’s value will increase in Italy between 2017 and 2024 as a breach to the nation’s nationwide shopper code. That code states that value adjustments can’t be made unilaterally with out stating a legitimate purpose prematurely. Italy’s shopper safety legal guidelines place a restrict on the discretionary energy firms have to boost costs to make sure it’s honest.
The Rome ruling additionally stated Netflix Italia subscribers are entitled to a discount in their present subscription value and needs to be refunded for unduly paid previous subscription prices.
It ordered the ruling to be revealed on Netflix Italia’s web site and within the nation’s prime newspapers to tell shoppers that their present contractual clauses have been void and that they have been entitled to a refund.
“For the Premium Plan, the illegal will increase utilized in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2024 quantity to €8 ($9.22) a month, whereas for the Normal Plan the whole is €4 a month,” stated legal professionals Paolo Fiorio and Riccardo Pinna, who represented shoppers within the case. “A Premium subscriber who has paid for Netflix repeatedly from 2017 to the current day is entitled to a refund of about €500 ($577), whereas a normal subscriber is due a refund of about €250 ($288).”
The Rome courtroom stated Netflix now has 90 days to adjust to the ruling, after which a penalty of €700 ($800) can be imposed for every day of delay.
Nevertheless, the streamer’s enchantment is more likely to both delay or cease that course of.
The Rome ruling may turn out to be a landmark case in Europe the place related authorized motion towards the streamer’s value hikes has been taken in Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, to little or no penalties thus far.
In Might 2025, a single Netflix buyer in Germany gained a case towards Netflix value will increase in a Cologne regional courtroom that dominated he needs to be refunded. However that case has thus far not had wider implications.
“At Netflix, our members come first. We take shopper rights very severely, and we imagine our phrases have at all times been in keeping with Italian regulation and practices,” Netflix stated in a press release.
In keeping with newest numbers from Italy’s media watchdog, Netflix had simply over 8 million distinctive customers in Italy in 2024, whereas subscribers stood at 5.4 million in 2025.
