Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni reportedly knew Phia was 'cookie stuffing' for months | TechCrunch

The shopping platform Phia, established by co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, has come under intense public scrutiny following revelations concerning its controversial business tactics.

A series of investigative reports revealed that the startup engaged in "cookie stuffing," a deceptive technique where an application falsely claims credit and captures commission fees for retail transactions it had no role in facilitating. While representatives for the startup initially characterized the situation as an accidental software glitch that they only discovered through media inquiries, recently leaked internal communications tell a different story. These messages indicate that the leadership team, including the co-founders, was fully aware of the practice months before it was exposed, discussing the mechanism as a deliberately designed tool rather than an unexpected system bug.

This ongoing controversy has caused substantial disruption for the young company. After disabling the cookie-stuffing mechanism, Phia experienced a dramatic decline in its daily incoming revenue, illustrating the extent to which the startup depended on these illicit affiliate fees to sustain itself. Furthermore, the fallout has triggered a severe internal crisis, with the company reportedly losing nearly half of its full-time staff members within a short period. Additional reports indicate that several major retailers were listed on the platform without their authorization, and early investors have distanced themselves due to the aggressive and questionable marketing strategies. This scandal adds to a growing list of concerns surrounding the platform, which previously faced backlash for secretly monitoring and gathering extensive user browsing data across the internet.