Story perspectives

Phia’s cookie-stuffing scheme cut revenue after probe

8/13/2026

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Summary

Gates Kianni Scheme

Phoebe Gates (Phia co-founder) and Sophia Kianni (co-founder) ran a cookie-stuffing feature claiming commissions on sales it did not drive.
The feature ran on coupon sites Dec 10, 2023–July 7, 2024.
Bloomberg reported it generated about 51 % of Phia’s claimed June sales.
After disabling it, daily revenue fell from $80,000 to $10,000-$28,000.
Ariel Givner (Givner Law founder and attorney) warned the conduct could carry up to 20 years prison plus fines.

Summary

Phia Secures Funding

Phia announced a $35.5 million seed round on May 29 led by Notable Capital, attracting celebrity investors Khloé Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Mindy Kaling, Jessica Alba, Hailey Bieber and Kris Jenner.
Phia is hiring a head of compliance, processing transaction reversals for brand partners, and has cut roughly half its full-time staff.
Puck said unauthorized retailer listings prompted affiliate networks Awin and Impact.com to suspend Phia’s access.

History

Historical Context

The FTC’s pattern of policing online commerce dates back to its December 8, 2020 antitrust filing against Meta, which challenged the company’s control of Instagram and WhatsApp. That case underscored the agency’s willingness to confront digital platforms, a stance that now extends to affiliate-marketing firms like Phia, prompting network and regulatory suspensions.

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Gates Kianni Scheme

Phoebe Gates (Phia co-founder) and Sophia Kianni (co-founder) ran a cookie-stuffing feature claiming commissions on sales it did not drive.
The feature ran on coupon sites Dec 10, 2023–July 7, 2024.
Bloomberg reported it generated about 51 % of Phia’s claimed June sales.
After disabling it, daily revenue fell from $80,000 to $10,000-$28,000.
Ariel Givner (Givner Law founder and attorney) warned the conduct could carry up to 20 years prison plus fines.

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