FTC Fielded Consumer Complaints About Phia Months Before Cookie-Stuffing Scandal Broke
Bloomberg reported internal messages suggesting automated tracking cookies ran for months, raising questions about whether the startup sought commissions on sales it did not generate.
- Shopping startup Phia, co-founded by Phoebe Gates, faces scrutiny over allegations its browser extension used "cookie stuffing" to claim commissions on sales it may not have generated.
- Cookie stuffing involves placing tracking cookies on devices without genuine referrals, deceiving retailers into paying commissions for sales the affiliate did not actually drive.
- Internal Slack messages suggest Gates and co-founder Sophia Kianni knew about the practice for months, while Bloomberg reported Phia's average daily revenue plummeted from roughly $80,000 to between $10,000 and $28,000.
- Phia removed the features on July 7 and began reversing affected transactions; affiliate network Impact subsequently suspended the company following the allegations.
- Attorney Ariel Givner noted that cookie stuffing can be prosecuted as federal wire fraud, with a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison plus fines.
27 Articles
27 Articles
Startup Phia, founded by Phoebe Gates, daughter of billionaire Bill Gates, and Sophia Kianni, has found itself at the center of a growing scandal over the way its browser add-on attributed online purchases to the company. Although no criminal charges have been filed against Gates yet, the dispute could have significant financial and legal consequences for the young entrepreneur. At the heart of the story is so-called “cookie stuffing,” a practic…
‘Cookie stuffing’: Bill Gates’ daughter facing claims of illicit dealing with multibillion dollar startup * WorldNetDaily * by Bob Unruh
Source link Phoebe Gates, 23, the daughter of software billionaire, climate change promoter, friend of Jeffrey Epstein and apparent marriage philanderer Bill Gates, is the co-founder of a multimillion-dollar startup company, Phia, which is described as a digital personal shopping assistant. And a new report is suggesting that that corporation, which had been claiming income
Phoebe Gates, daughter of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, faces questions over the alleged use of a fraudulent marketing technique known as “cookie suffing” in Phia, a startup that co-founded with Sophia Kianni, an American climate activist and social entrepreneur. Practice can be considered electronic fraud (“wire fraud”) in the United States and, according to ... Continue reading “Bill Gates’ daughter risks 20 years in jail for computer fraud an…
What is ‘cookie stuffing’? Why Bill Gates’s daughter is under fire over the online tactic
“Cookie stuffing” unfortunately has nothing to do with sugary treats and Thanksgiving dishes. Instead, it’s led to Phoebe Gates—the daughter of Bill Gates and Melinda Gates—getting into some trouble. Specifically, the cofounder of Phia, an AI shopping startup, is catching heat for the company allegedly engaging in just that, according to a recent Bloomberg story. What is cookie stuffing? It is a type of affiliate marketing fraud and involves the…
FTC Fielded Consumer Complaints About Phia Months Before Cookie-Stuffing Scandal Broke
Records obtained via FOIA show the agency began receiving complaints about undisclosed advertising last January — long before Bloomberg’s reporting on the Phoebe Gates-founded startup’s commission practices.
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