Phia, the shopping startup co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, is once again under fire for its alleged business practices. The latest issue stems from earlier this year when Bloomberg published an investigation that mapped out how Phia was taking credit and commission for affiliate purchases it did not help to generate, known as cookie stuffing. 

It’s a controversial practice that can get startups sued, mainly because it’s seen as taking referral revenue away from other affiliate marketers. Usually, when affiliate platforms like Phia sign on to work in a marketplace, they sign a contract stating that cookie stuffing is banned because it’s unfair. 

When Bloomberg first reported on Phia’s cookie stuffing, a Phia spokesperson told the publication that the company was only made aware of the issue when Bloomberg reached out to them.

But new reporting by Bloomberg shows that Gates and Kianni knew their startup was cookie stuffing as far back as December, based on leaked Slacks and sources familiar with the matter speaking to the publication.

The latest reporting found that cookie stuffing made up a good chunk of Phia’s sales and the company saw a sizable drop in daily revenue once it stopped the practice. The outlet also gained insight into the affected retailers, including Nike and Nordstrom.

Back in early July, a Phia spokesperson referred to the cookie stuffing as a bug, but Bloomberg now reports that this was a purposefully built feature that could be switched on and off. The leaked Slack messages also show Gates and Kianni talking about cookie stuffing practices with other executives and engineers. 

Regarding the new allegations, a Phia spokesperson told Bloomberg that it rebuffed some of the publication’s claims, but said the company would “learn from this.” 

Phia did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.

Phia launched last April with the promise to be a more effective Google Flights-like site for shopping — helping users find the best prices across various retailers.

A few days after Bloomberg’s investigation in July, Puck also dug around and found that Phia lost almost half its full-time employees since the beginning of the year; that several brands were unaware that they were listed on the app; and that investors got the ick from how aggressively Phia was leaning into affiliate marketing. It’s also faced controversy in the past, like about how it was secretly collecting swaths of sensitive data, including tracking user behavior across the web and sending it back to their servers. 

In collaboration with the Kingdom of Bhutan government, IEEE recently introduced its Engineering Education, Research, and Innovation Summit.

Held on 9 and 10 June in Paro, in the eastern Himalayas, the event was designed to help Bhutan navigate its digital transformation by focusing on the critical intersection of digital transformation, engineering education, and sustainable development.

The summit brought together global academic leaders, technology experts, and Bhutanese government officials to discuss how modern engineering curricula can evolve from theory-centric models into application- and skills-based frameworks. Discussions focused on how to build high-value research capabilities in the country, integrate artificial intelligence into higher education, and address foundational infrastructure challenges to ensure equitable, nationwide digital readiness.

“IEEE is proud to collaborate as a catalyst for progress in higher education as AI shifts the technology landscape and Bhutan prepares for its next era of innovation and resilience,” Mary Ellen Randall, 2026 IEEE president and CEO, said at the event. “Our goal is to support local universities and students as they develop trusted, future-ready technology that honors the nation’s commitment to sustainability and human well-being.”

The event featured an address by Bhutanese Princess Chimi Yangzom Wangchuck, who emphasized the importance of aligning technological innovation with the nation’s philosophy of gross national happiness (GNH), which prioritizes well-being, sustainability, and ethics.

“The question before us is not whether technology will shape the future; it certainly will,” the princess said. “The more pressing question is whether we can shape technology according to our values.”

A blueprint for Bhutan’s future

The summit helped establish a collaborative blueprint for a high-value knowledge economy in Bhutan through several key focus areas:

• Workforce readiness: designing industry-driven curriculum modernization and cocreating skills programs to equip graduates with practical, technical competencies.
• AI and research infrastructure: strengthening open science, trusted regional datasets, and global citation impact to prepare universities for AI-enabled learning environments.
• Values-driven innovation: merging GNH principles with technological advancement and helping ensure new engineering practices support climate-resilient infrastructure and green innovation.
• Institutional connectivity: using digital transformation to bridge technical capability gaps between urban and rural institutions; linking classrooms to a global research network.
• Promoting sustainability: convening stakeholders to exchange ideas on green innovation, climate-resilient infrastructure, and engineering education.

Expanding digital access

To help promote the effort, IEEE offered Bhutanese universities, government institutions, and industries a six-month complimentary trial of two key technical resources:

• IEEE Electronic Library. Delivered via the IEEE Xplore Digital Library, the IEL gives users access to more than 7 million documents—including trusted IEEE journals, conference proceedings, standards, and technical papers—to enhance research, teaching, and technology development.
• IEEE eLearning Library. This platform offers online courses developed by experts in engineering, computing, and technology, supporting flexible learning across core and emerging technical fields for professionals, faculty and students.

Meta and TikTok failed to secure an early appellate ruling that could have cut off a major wave of social media addiction lawsuits. The Ninth Circuit dismissed their appeals on August 10 as premature, leaving thousands of cases against major platforms moving forward in lower courts.

The ruling does not decide whether Section 230 ultimately protects the companies from liability. It decides something narrower: Meta and TikTok cannot use the statute at this stage to obtain immediate appellate review and avoid continuing to defend the litigation.

The Ninth Circuit did not decide Section 230

According to Reuters, the appeals challenged lower-court rulings that largely allowed lawsuits against major social media companies to proceed. The cases include claims from states, municipalities, school districts, and individuals who allege platform designs contributed to addiction and mental health problems among young users.

One of the consolidated appeals is People of the State of California v. Meta Platforms, No. 24-7032. Meta and TikTok argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act should shield them from the litigation before the cases advanced further.

The Ninth Circuit rejected that procedural route. The court treated Section 230 as a defense to liability rather than a categorical right to avoid being sued, making an immediate appeal premature. A previous Ninth Circuit opinion likewise described Section 230(c)(1) immunity as an affirmative defense.

Plaintiffs are trying to separate their claims from the third-party content Section 230 traditionally protects. They argue that features and design choices intended to increase engagement can themselves be defective or harmful, regardless of the specific posts users encounter.

That argument has not been settled by this ruling. Meta, TikTok, and other defendants can still raise Section 230 as the cases develop, and plaintiffs still have to prove that the challenged designs caused the harms they allege.

The addiction lawsuits are producing different outcomes

The broader litigation has already moved beyond motions to dismiss in some cases.

In March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for negligently designing their platforms and failing to warn about risks to a young user. The jury awarded $6 million, assigning $4.2 million to Meta and $1.8 million to Google. TikTok and Snap settled before that trial.

Other cases have ended without verdicts. Google settled YouTube claims brought by a Florida teenager in June, while Meta later avoided a separate July addiction trial when the plaintiff dropped the remaining claim against the company.

Those differing outcomes are an important limit on what can be inferred from the Ninth Circuit decision. Allowing litigation to continue does not establish that the platforms caused a plaintiff’s injuries, and it does not require Meta, TikTok, YouTube, or Snap to change specific product features.

For now, the companies must continue defending cases built around alleged harms from platform design. The harder legal question remains unresolved: whether particular claims challenge a platform’s own product design independently enough from third-party content to avoid Section 230 protection.

That issue can return to appellate courts after lower courts produce final decisions. The August 10 ruling simply means Meta and TikTok did not get an early exit.

Also read: Meta was recently ordered to pay $567 million and overhaul protections for minors on Facebook and Instagram under a separate New Mexico court ruling.