Overview
- Bloomberg and follow‑up reporting say internal Slack messages and source code indicate Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni were aware of a cookie‑dropping feature as early as December 2025 that could be turned on and off from an internal dashboard labeled things like “enable coupon auto drop.”
- The feature reportedly injected affiliate tracking cookies without required user clicks, a practice known as cookie stuffing that let Phia claim commissions on sales it did not drive.
- Phia says it removed the disputed features on July 7, is reviewing transactions, has begun issuing reversals to brand partners and is hiring a head of compliance.
- Affiliate network Impact.com suspended Phia and reallocated commissions after the reporting, and internal charts cited by reporters show daily revenue plunged from about $80,000 to between $10,000 and $28,000 after the features were disabled.
- Legal experts note cookie stuffing can be treated as federal wire fraud in U.S. courts and past cases ended in criminal penalties, and the revelations threaten partner lawsuits, investor pullback and possible regulatory or criminal probes.