Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Court of Rome has ruled that Netflix’s subscription price hikes in Italy between 2017 and January 2024 were unlawful. The court said these increases violated the national Consumer Code as they lacked clearly justified reasons within the contract. The US-based streaming giant has now been directed to reimburse customers who were affected by these price changes over the years.
According to a consumer association statement on Friday (via Reuters), the ruling now requires Netflix to refund subscribers for the excess amounts paid during this period, with compensation potentially reaching up to €500 (around Rs 53,646) for long-term Premium users.
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In an official statement, Movimento Consumatori said the court had upheld its lawsuit against Netflix Italia, ruling that the contract clauses enabling repeated price hikes were unfair. The court observed that these provisions violated the Consumer Code as they allowed subscription costs to be increased without clearly stating valid reasons in advance. As a result, subscribers are now eligible for a reduction in their current subscription fees, refunds for amounts that were wrongly charged, and additional compensation wherever applicable.
Lawyers Paolo Fiorio and Riccardo Pinna, representing consumers in the case, reportedly explained that unlawful increases for the Premium Plan were introduced in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2024, adding up to 8 euros per month. For the Standard Plan, the cumulative increase stood at 4 euros per month. Based on these calculations, a Premium subscriber who has been continuously paying since 2017 could be eligible for a refund of around €500, while a Standard Plan subscriber may receive approximately €250.
In addition to the financial restitution, the Italian court has also ordered Netflix Italia to carry out a widespread public information campaign. Within 90 days, the company is required to publish the ruling on its official website and in leading national newspapers to inform both current and former users about their right to claim refunds. Failure to comply with this directive will attract a daily penalty of €700, adding further pressure on the company to ensure timely communication.
According to Italy’s communications authority, Netflix had just over 8 million unique users in the country in 2024, while its subscriber base stood at around 5.4 million in 2025, indicating that a large number of users could be impacted by the ruling.
Meanwhile, Netflix said it plans to appeal the decision. The company maintained that it takes consumer rights seriously and believes its subscription terms have always complied with Italian laws and industry practices. “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, via Euronews.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
