A court in Rome ruled this week that Netflix’s various price increases in the country—covering roughly seven years of steadily rising rates—were illegal under Italian consumer law. As such, the streamer has been ordered to not only reduce its prices, but also to grant refunds to all the subscribers impacted. Which, between the fact that the price increases reportedly add up to more than €500 (about $575) for the longest-lasting subscribers at the company’s highest tiers, and that Netflix has more than 5 million paying customers in the country, could lead to some extremely hefty refunds.
Per Reuters, the ruling was issued in response to a lawsuit brought forward by consumer group Movimento Consumatori, which claims that, by imposing price increases without providing stated reasons for them, Netflix violated Italy’s consumer code. (Ars Technica reports that Netflix updated its terms of service in the country last year to get around this exact issue, hence why the lawsuit specifically focused on the period from 2017 to 2024.) The court ordered that Netflix’s Italian site put up a notice informing consumers about the forthcoming refunds, alongside notices in the country’s newspapers.
That being said, the streaming giant isn’t taking this attack on both its own pocketbook, and its ability to take more money from ours, lying down: Reuters reports that the entertainment company released a statement today saying “We take consumer rights very seriously and believe our terms have always complied with Italian laws and practice.” More to the point, Netflix is absolutely going to appeal this decision, which will presumably block any enforcement of it until after said appeal goes through; we don’t have detailed enough subscription information about Netflix’s Italian branch over the years to know exactly how much it would have to give out as a total result of the decision, but the number is clearly considerable enough that the streamer is ready to fight to avoid having to pay up.
