The punishment Bill Gatess daughter Phoebe is most likely to face over Phias cookie stuffing controversy

Phoebe Gates is unlikely to face the maximum 20 years behind bars for potential charges stemming from the “cookie stuffing” allegations engulfing her AI-powered shopping startup Phia — but she could get walloped with civil lawsuits and financial penalties if the claims are proven, experts told The Post.Star Kashman, founding partner of Cyber Law Firm, said federal wire fraud carries a statutory maximum of two decades years in prison, along with potential financial penalties — but stressed that prosecutors would first have to prove that Gates knowingly participated in a scheme to defraud.“This can’t be a careless or negligent error,” she told The Post.“Wire fraud would have to paint a picture of a knowing scheme that is organized to defraud these individuals (affiliates, businesses etc.) of their money.”The more immediate danger for Gates and Phia could hit their pocketbooks, according to Kashman.“The more likely penalty here is financial penalties,” she said.Kashman said parties that can demonstrate they lost money because of Phia’s alleged conduct could potentially pursue civil claims over commissions, contracts and business relationships, as well as privacy and consumer-protection issues.Gates, the 23-year-old daughter of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and fellow Stanford alum Sophia Kianni co-founded Phia, an AI-powered shopping platform that launched its consumer app and browser extension in April 2025.Bloomberg reported this week that Phia’s browser extension could drop affiliate tracking cookies even when shoppers did not take the action normally required for the startup to claim credit for a sale, a practice known as “cookie stuffing.” The practice affected affiliates including Nike, Nordstrom and the Gap, according to Bloomberg.Those companies are yet to publicly comment on the scandal.The report cited internal Slack communications and source code that it said showed the founders were aware of automatic cookie-placement featu...