Italian Court Orders Netflix Price Refunds

A Rome court ruled on April 1 that Netflix's price increases for Italian subscribers between 2017 and 2024 violated the country's Consumer Code, ordering the company to refund affected customers and roll back those hikes to their original levels.

The decision, which favors the consumer advocacy group Movimento Consumatori, applies to increases implemented in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2024, excluding those tied to contracts signed after January 2024 or recent service changes. Under Italy's consumer protection laws, companies must include specific, justified reasons for potential price adjustments in their contracts upfront, rather than making unilateral changes. The court found Netflix's terms lacked such provisions, rendering the hikes invalid despite the company's practice of providing advance notice and cancellation options.

Eligible subscribers could receive refunds of up to 500 euros for premium plans or 250 euros for standard plans, based on continuous subscriptions since 2017, according to lawyers Paolo Fiorio and Riccardo Pinna, who represented the consumers. Premium users would see their monthly fee reduced by about 8 euros, to 11.99 euros, while standard users would pay 4...