If you’re mad about the seemingly never-ending wave of price increases hitting streaming services, sometimes called “streamflation,” you’re not alone. Some 47% of US consumers say they pay too much for streaming, according to market research from Deloitte, with the average US household already spending $69 per month on streaming services.
Now, a consumer advocacy group in Italy has managed to fight back effectively, securing as much as $550 in compensation for each Italian consumer following a recent lawsuit. The lawsuit, brought by Movimento Consumatori, claimed the streaming giant’s series of price increases violated the country’s Consumer Code.
According to Italian newspaper Il Sole, a Rome court found that the clauses allowing Netflix to change prices and terms between 2017 and January 2024 without providing a valid reason in the contract, are void. As a result, the price increases applied in 2017, 2019, 2021, and November 2024 were “deemed unlawful and subject to restitution.”
Italians impacted by the price hikes could be entitled to a refund of approximately €500 (around $540) if they were subscribed continuously from 2017 to the time of writing, while a Standard Netflix subscriber is entitled to a refund of approximately €250 (around $270). The court’s ruling will also affect Italian subscribers to Netflix’s Basic plan, which saw a €2 increase in October 2024. Following the court’s decision, Netflix will need to inform its present and past customers about the potential compensation within the next 90 days, or face a penalty of €700 per day.
Netflix said it intends to fight the ruling, with a spokesperson telling Il Sole: “We take consumer rights very seriously and believe our terms and conditions have always been in line with Italian law and practice.”
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But the news is unlikely to benefit struggling Netflix subscribers outside of Italy much, in the short term at least. Netflix last bumped up its prices for US users in March 2026, just over a year after its last price hike, with Standard with ads increasing from $7.99 to $8.99. Meanwhile, Standard with no ads increased from $17.99 to $19.99, while Premium also increased $2 from $24.99 to $26.99 per month.
Some commentators, such as Ars Technica, which covered the news, think that the ruling could encourage more consumer advocacy versus streaming services outside Italy.
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