Now Reading: Bill Gates’s daughter faces 20-year jail term over cookie stuffing charge
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Bill Gates’s daughter faces 20-year jail term over cookie stuffing charge
Bill Gates’s daughter faces 20-year jail term over cookie stuffing charge
Phoebe Gates's shopping startup Phia knew for at least seven months it was claiming commissions on sales it never drove, a Bloomberg investigation reports. The practice, called cookie stuffing, is treated as…
The Story in Brief
Phoebe Gates's shopping startup Phia knew for at least seven months it was claiming commissions on sales it never drove, a Bloomberg investigation reports. The practice, called cookie stuffing, is treated as federal wire fraud in US courts and carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, says Ariel Givner, founder of Givner Law. Internal Slack messages showed founders discussing automated cookie-dropping features across retailers including Nike and Gap. After disabling the features in July, daily revenue fell from $80,000 to between $10,000 and $28,000.
Phia told Bloomberg the features causing misattributions were removed on July 7 and says it is reviewing all transactions. The affiliate network Impact.com has suspended Phia and reallocated its commissions. The startup raised $30 million this year from backers including Hailey Bieber and Kris Jenner.
The Indian Opinion
The Bloomberg report paints a clear picture of founders who knew what they were doing and discussed how to avoid detection. But the narrative that a billionaire's daughter needs to 'prove herself' sounds hollow when the startup was backed by celebrity investors and her father's name opened doors. The real test will be whether Phia's compliance overhaul goes beyond damage control. The US courts will settle the criminal question, but regulators in India and Europe watching this case should ask: how many other browser extensions use the same trick? A number like 51 per cent of claimed merchandise value tells its own story.
Sources (2): livemint.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
