Ninth Circuit Overturns Amazon Injunction Against Perplexity's AI Agent
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a preliminary injunction that Amazon had secured against Perplexity AI over its web browser tool, Comet. Amazon had alleged that Comet unlawfully accessed its website on behalf of users in violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). This decision marks a pivotal legal legal milestone regarding whether automated AI agents acting on user instructions can be directly sued by web platforms or if they are protected as extensions of the user. It also touches on the financial threat of "headless e-commerce," which bypasses traditional shopping interfaces and ad-driven product placement revenue. Amazon sought to block Perplexity's browser tool under the CFAA, claiming unauthorized web access and scraping activity. The Ninth Circuit's reversal indicates that establishing unauthorized access or liability for AI tools acting directly for authorized human users remains a complex challenge for e-commerce giants.
## BACKGROUND
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is a U.S. cybersecurity law that criminalizes accessing computer systems without authorization or exceeding authorized access. As autonomous AI agents increasingly navigate websites, aggregate product listings, and complete purchases for consumers, courts are tasked with evaluating whether these tools behave like standard web browsers or violate terms of service and access restrictions.