A court in Rome has found that Netflix‘s price increases in Italy were illegal. The streamer is ordered to refund subscribers. The company will appeal.
The ruling comes after a case from Italian consumer group Movimento Consumatori, which sued the group for its price increases from 2017 to January 2024. Saying that it broke the country’s national code for consumer protection.
The court found that Netflix’s price increase clauses were unfair because they did not give subscribers a legitimate reason for the price increases. The ruling applies to the company’s price increases in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2024 – all found to be illegal.
Subscriber Refunds
Legal representatives for the lawsuit said the unlawful price increases on the Premium Plan were 8 euros a month, and 4 euros in the Standard Plan. Subscribers of the Premium plan who paid continuously from 2017 will be entitled to a refund of about 500 euros. The Standard Plan will be entitled to about 250 euros.
Besides giving refunds, the company has to follow other new rules. They must drop their prices; the Premium plan will now be 11.99 euros, and the Standard will be 9.99 euros. It orders Netflix Italia to publish the ruling on its official website and in the biggest national newspapers. So customers know what they are entitled to get back.
Italy is the fourth biggest Netflix market in Europe, with about 5.4 million subscribers in October 2025. The potential refund total is huge, but it all depends on whether the appeal is successful.
Netflix’s Reaction
Netflix is fighting back. “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.
The Rome decision followed the U.S. price hike that Netflix had announced on March 26, the second such increase in a little more than a year for its three plans. The timing is no coincidence. The Italian ruling is part of a larger European trend.
Consumer groups in Germany and Spain have also challenged the same Netflix pricing clauses, and German courts have found that price changes made on the basis of generic formulas are null and void. The Rome court decision over the weekend has no effect for now, while the appeal process is ongoing. For now, millions of Netflix subscribers in Italy are watching to see how this unfolds.
