11.  Comcast’s data collection allows it to identify, accurately and personally, the best  candidates for any particular advertisement and when and where to show them those  advertisements.    12.  In addition to subscribers’ viewing histories, the PII that Comcast collects and  uses to target ads includes customers’ incomes, ethnicities, education level, the cars they drive,  the products they buy, and where they live—data Comcast acquires from other sources, like  Experian, and matches with existing PII in the subscriber profiles Comcast creates, maintains,  and updates.5   14.  Comcast’s development and use of user profiles—assembled from the personally  identifiable information of its cable subscribers—does not stop at the television screen. Comcast  touts that its user profiles further identify (and follow) the subscriber to his or her computer or  other internet-enabled devices, gather data on social media and other use, adding that data to its  user profiles. Then:  Comcast Spotlight’s multi-screen solutions include television and  online advertising to integrate an advertiser’s message to potential  customers in a more engaging and impactful way. Multi-screen  advertising extends reach, builds frequency and provides advertisers  with multiple exposures in Comcast homes across the county.7  Comcast sells the benefits and features of this surreptitious profiling and tracking to advertisers,  touting the value of the “unifi[cation]” of “TV and online efforts,” of “unduplicated local reach”  and “extend[ing] existing TV commercial creative into the online space creating cost  efficiencies.”8   16.  Comcast’s cable system generates, transmits, and collects data about subscribers’  cable television viewing activity (“video activity data”), including which channels, programs,  and advertisements subscribers view and for how long.10 That information, and the way Comcast  admits using it, show that subscriber viewing data is PII under the Cable Privacy Act.11   18.  Comcast’s media partners provide further confirmation that Comcast collects its  subscribers viewing data on a PII-basis (with that data linked or linkable to the specific  subscriber in question). In an advertising white paper titled “Addressable TV,” data aggregator  Experian explains how companies can partner with Comcast and other cable operators to use  viewing data to target individual customers:  Like a piece of mail that arrives in your mailbox, the TV ad can be  tailored to the household, with different ads delivered to different  households simultaneously across the same ad unit.13  Further,  To target at the household level via addressable TV, one must buy  from TV operator (Cablevision, Comcast, Dish Network,  DIRECTV) who has set-top box technology to target and deliver  the one-to-one ads.14   20.  The personally identifiable demographic data that Comcast collects and maintains  about its subscribers includes their age, gender, presence and age of children, education,  occupation, marital status, household size, property ownership, mortgage/loan/insurance data,  automotive ownership, general interests, and even magazine subscriptions.16 This data is  personally identifiable because it is linked to and concerns a particular subscriber, and is used  (without limitation) to target ads to the subscriber’s devices based on their demographic  characteristics and to measure the popularity of programs among subscribers based on their  characteristics.  B.  Comcast’s Conduct Violates Federal and State Law    21.  The Cable Privacy Act requires cable operators to obtain the “written or electronic  consent of the subscriber concerned” before using the cable system to collect PII concerning any  subscriber (subject to certain inapplicable exceptions). See 47 U.S.C. § 551(b). Comcast violated,  and continues to violate, this requirement by collecting personally identifiable data from  subscribers through its cable system for advertising purposes without their prior written or  electronic consent, including but not limited to their personal viewing histories.   23.  The Cable Privacy Act also requires cable operators to provide written notice to  their subscribers, upon contracting and annually thereafter, “which clearly and conspicuously  informs the subscriber of ”, among other things, the nature and purpose of the PII collected; the  nature and frequency of disclosures of such PII to third parties; the duration that a cable operator  will maintain said PII; the mechanism by which a subscriber may obtain access to her PII for  review; and the full set of rights of the subscriber as set forth in the Cable Privacy Act. 47 U.S.C.  § 551(a)(1). Throughout the relevant period, Comcast’s Privacy Notice failed to clearly and  conspicuously tell subscribers any of this information, and instead mislead subscribers as to the  full extent of PII collected and used, or of the subscribers’ rights regarding said PII.    24.  The Cable Privacy Act also requires cable operators to provide subscribers access  to all PII regarding themselves which the cable operator collected and maintains. See 47 U.S.C. §  551(d). Comcast does not provide cable subscribers who request access to their PII with a copy  of all PII regarding that subscriber that Comcast has collected and maintains. Rather, when  subscribers request access to the PII associated with their account (including Plaintiff), Comcast  provides only the subscriber’s name, partial social security number, address, and telephone  number without providing any of the video activity data or demographic data that Comcast  collects and maintains.   26.  Plaintiff Wainblat subscribed to Comcast cable television service for his residence  in Boston, Massachusetts beginning in approximately September 2013.   27.  When Wainblat’s Comcast cable television subscription began, and at least once a  year thereafter, Comcast provided Wainblat with a copy of its Customer Privacy Notice, which  suffered from the above-alleged deficiencies.   28.  Comcast never obtained Plaintiff Wainblat’s electronic or written consent to  collect his PII using its cable system, as required by the Cable Privacy Act.   29.  At the start of his cable subscription, Comcast provided Plaintiff Wainblat with a  set-top cable box. Wainblat watched cable television using the set-top cable box during his cable  subscription. Throughout Wainblat’s subscription to Comcast’s cable television service, Comcast  collected and maintained Wainblat’s PII pursuant to its standardized practices as alleged above.   30.  On April 27, 2018 Mr. Wainblat requested, through counsel, that Comcast  produce the personally identifiable information associated with his account. In response, on June  27, 2018, Comcast stated:  Personally identifiable information (“PII”), as that term is used in  47 U.S.C. § 551 is available to you through My Account, which can  be accessed by visiting xfinity.com/myaccount or through the My  Account app. Your billing statements, which may display PII, can  also be accessed through My Account. If you need assistance  accessing My Account or you would like hard copies of your billing  statements, please submit that request to us through your counsel.   32.  Comcast’s practices regarding subscriber requests are uniform, and all parties  seeking access to their PII receive a similar response (and are refused access to the full  complement of PII collected, maintained, and used by Comcast).   33.  Wainblat faces a threat of imminent or actual harm because, inter alia:   a. Comcast and undisclosed third parties continue to maintain and use his  wrongfully obtained PII;   b. Comcast is in continuing breach of its statutory duty to provide him with his  PII; and   c. he cannot make an informed decision about whether to subscribe to Comcast  cable television in the future—and otherwise safeguard his privacy interest in  his PII— without knowing the full extent of Comcast’s data collection and  whether Comcast has ceased its unlawful practices.  34.  Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 2318, Plaintiff brings this action for  himself and the following Class (the “Class”):    All persons in Massachusetts who have or had a residential  Comcast cable television subscription.   36.  Plaintiff reserves the right to amend the Class definition if discovery and further  investigation reveal that the Class should be expanded or otherwise modified.    37.  Numerosity:  The class is so numerous that joinder is impracticable. Comcast has  millions of subscribers nationwide—and at least tens of thousands of subscribers in  Massachusetts—and treats each one in the same manner. The disposition of the claims of these  Class Members in a single action will provide substantial benefits to all parties and to the Court.  The Class Members are readily identifiable from information and records in Comcast’s  possession, custody, or control.   38.  Typicality:  The claims of the representative Plaintiff are typical of the claims of  the Class in that Comcast systematically collected, maintained, and used Plaintiff’s and Class  members’ PII in the same unlawful manner. Further, the factual bases of Comcast’s misconduct  represent a common thread of misconduct resulting in injury to Plaintiff and all Class Members.   40.  Adequate Representation:  Plaintiff will fairly and adequately protect the interests  of Class Members.  Plaintiff has retained attorneys experienced in the prosecution of class  actions, consumer class actions in particular, and consumer privacy class actions specifically.  Plaintiff intends to prosecute this action vigorously.  Fed. Rule Civ. P. 23(b)(3)   42.  Comcast has acted on grounds generally applicable to the entire Class, thereby  making final injunctive relief and/or corresponding declaratory relief appropriate with respect to  the Class as a whole.  The prosecution of separate actions by individual Class members would  create the risk of inconsistent or varying adjudications with respect to individual members of the  Class that would establish incompatible standards for Comcast.   43.  Injunctive and/or declaratory relief is necessary to prevent further unlawful and  unfair business practices by Comcast.  Money damages alone will not afford adequate and  complete relief, and injunctive relief is necessary to restrain Comcast from continuing to commit  its illegal and unfair policies.  44.  Plaintiff incorporates by reference paragraphs 1 through 43 above.   46.  In violation of 47 U.S.C. § 55l(b), Comcast used its cable system to collect PII of  its subscribers (including Plaintiff) without their prior written or electronic consent.   47.  As described herein, Comcast’s collection and use its subscribers’ PII is not  permitted under 47 U.S.C. § 551 (b)(2) because such collection is not for the purpose of: (a)  obtaining information necessary to render a cable service or other service provided by the cable  operator to the subscriber; or (b) detecting unauthorized reception of cable communications.   48.  In violation of 47 U.S.C. § 551(c), Comcast disclosed and discloses its  subscribers’ PII to third parties (including but not limited to Spotlight and Experian) without  those subscribers’ prior written or electronic consent.  Such disclosure is not permitted under 47  U.S.C. § 551 (c)(2) because such collection is not for the purposes enumerated thereunder.   49.  In violation of 47 U.S.C. § 55l(d), Comcast failed to provide Plaintiff with access  to all PII regarding Plaintiff that Comcast collected and maintains after Plaintiff requested access  to his PII. Among other things, although Comcast maintains PII in the form of video activity data  and demographic data relating to Plaintiff, Comcast did not provide access to that information in  response to Plaintiff’s request.  Comcast’s policies and procedures in this regard are uniform,  with respect to Plaintiff and Class members.  50.  Plaintiff repeats and incorporates by reference herein paragraphs 1 through 43  above.    52.  Plaintiff and the Class suffered actual injury as a result of Defendant’s acts,  practices, and omissions.    53.  In violation of its statutory obligations, Defendant omitted facts concerning  Comcast’s data collection and use of sensitive PII that thwarted each Class member’s reasonable  expectation of privacy vis-à-vis Comcast’s products and services and inflated the value and price  thereof.  Plaintiff would not have paid as much as he did (or at all) for Comcast’s services, had  he known the full extent of the facts omitted by Comcast.  Defendant’s conduct also resulted in  an intrusion into the personal life and private affairs of each Class member, causing injury in an  amount to be proven at trial but in any event valued at greater than a penny.   54.  Defendant performed the actions described herein willfully and knowingly within  the meaning of M.G.L. c. 93A § 9(3), thereby entitling Plaintiff and the members of the Class to  attorneys’ fees and trebled damages.   55.  Plaintiff made a written demand for relief pursuant to M.G.L. c. 93A § 9(3)19, and  Comcast has failed to make a timely and adequate response, thereby entitling Plaintiff to  judgment on this matter and for all damages authorized by statute.  9.  The Cable Privacy Act also requires cable operators to provide subscribers access  to all PII the cable operator collects and maintains concerning the subscriber. 47 U.S.C. § 551(d).  When customers ask for this access, however, Comcast produces only the subscriber’s name,  partial social security number, address, and telephone number—without providing any video  activity data or demographic data that Comcast maintains. In failing and refusing to produce the  information Comcast violates subscribers’ statutory rights and actively conceals its illegal  practices.  1) We know Comcast illegally collects and maintains personally identifiable  viewing and other data because it advertises services that depend on the  collection, maintenance, and use of data that personally identifies individuals   A. Comcast systematically violates its statutory obligations by collecting, maintaining,  and using customers’ personally identifiable viewing data without consent, and by  refusing to provide it when asked.   Violation of 47 U.S.C. § 551  (For Plaintiff and the Class)   Violation of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A   (For Plaintiff and the Class)  