Last month, Variety reported that Netflix was raising its subscription fees. That this was taking place at all was not the only notable thing about it; the headline for the article declared, “Netflix Raising U.S. Prices for Second Time in Less Than Two Years.” As The Verge pointed out in its coverage of streaming services, Netflix is far from alone in steadily increasing the prices of its service.
However, Netflix recently encountered a roadblock in its subscription fee plans in at least one location. As Scharon Harding reports at Ars Technica, an Italian judge recently ruled against the service, determining that its price increases violated laws in that country intended to protect consumers.
Ars Technica reports that the ruling covered four of Netflix’s price increases — in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2024 — to Italian customers. As a result, the streaming service has been ordered to pay up to €500 (or $576) per customer, depending on their level of service. Not surprisingly, Netflix plans to appeal the decision.
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Including a “Stranger Things” reunionRefunds are not the only element of the ruling that will affect Netflix subscribers in Italy. As part of the judge’s order, Netflix was also instructed to reduce its prices, with the revised fees to be based on when a customer began their subscription. Netflix does appear to have taken steps to comply with Italian law more recently, based on an update to the company’s terms of service that went into effect last year.
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