Poland: Subscription services – the same rules, new interpretation by Polish watch dog

The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has challenged Netflix’s terms and conditions that have allowed the company to unilaterally change prices and other important contractual terms without obtaining the active consent of users. On 25 August 2025, UOKiK formally brought charges against Netflix for using prohibited contractual clauses.

Key findings

UOKiK found the following practices insufficient and potentially unlawful:

• including a modification clause that merely states the subscription fees may change,
• informing consumers about price increases via emails or in-app messages,
• treating user’s silence (lack of action) or continued use of the services as tacit consent to new essential contractual terms.

According to the UOKiK announcement: 

‘If the platform operates on a subscription model where the fee for the next period is automatically charged to the consumer's payment card, any change in price, tariff plan, or significant element of the contract must be made with the consumer's informed consent. If this consent is not given, the contract should not be extended under the changed terms and conditions.'

UOKiK emphasizes that active, informed and explicit consent should be obtained from each user for such a change to be valid.

Implications for subscription providers

UOKiK's position sets new standards for providers of subscription-based services for which payments are collected automatically.

This is particularly interesting, as the change in UOKiK’s approach is not based on the new legislation or court rulings but rather on a stricter application of existing principles under the Polish civil code and consumer law provisions.

While Polish civil law provisions do not explicitly define ‘active consent’, UOKiK uses the concept which is widely used in GDPR, applying it to subscription contracts.

UOKiK considers unilateral changes to essential contract terms – such as pricing — unfair and misleading.

What does this mean for business?

Business will need to:

• review and adapt, where necessary, their terms and conditions,
• ensure that any changes to essential contract terms are communicated clearly,
• obtain explicit user consent before applying new terms. 

UOKiK has announced further investigations into services offered on a subscription model. Among the traders on UOKiK’s radar are major players such as Apple, Disney+, Google (with YouTube Premium), HBO Max, Microsoft (with Game Pass), Sony (with PlayStation Plus) and Adobe.

It is still unclear whether the updated approach only applies to automatically charged services or also to all paid services or even free subscription models. For now, the focus seems to be limited to providers of subscription-based services with automatic payment. However, given that UOKiK refers to changes in essential contractual terms, we may expect further updates.

Conclusion

UOKiK’s actions mark a significant shift in how subscription services providers must handle contract changes. Businesses should act proactively to ensure compliance, as failure to do so may result in fines, reputational damage, and the obligation to refund improperly charged fees.