• 2 min read
Court lifts Amazon’s block on Perplexity shopping bot
A federal appeals court overturned Amazon’s injunction against Perplexity’s Comet shopping tool, but Amazon’s lawsuit will continue.
Image: Engadget
Amazon’s injunction against Perplexity’s AI shopping tool has been overturned, removing a temporary block on the feature inside Perplexity’s Comet browser. The ruling does not end the broader lawsuit between the companies.
Why the appeals court rejected the injunction
According to Bloomberg, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Amazon had not shown Perplexity likely violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). To support an injunction under that law, Amazon needed to establish that Perplexity intentionally accessed a computer without authorization, obtained information from it, and caused losses averaging at least $5,000 during a one-year period.
The court focused on how Comet works: the browser’s shopping tool requires the user to direct it to access Amazon. On that basis, the appeals court determined that the user—not Perplexity—was accessing Amazon’s servers. It also concluded that blocking Comet’s shopping capabilities was not justified by the potential harm to Amazon, writing that an injunction “against conduct that likely does not violate the CFAA or the CDAFA would not serve the public interest.”
Amazon’s lawsuit continues
Amazon and Perplexity have been fighting over automated shopping access since November 2025. Amazon sent a cease-and-desist letter that month, claiming the companies had agreed to pause agentic shopping in 2024 and that Perplexity later re-enabled the feature by disguising Comet’s AI bot as a standard Chrome browser.
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Amazon sued Perplexity in March 2026, winning a temporary injunction shortly afterward. The appeals court’s decision lifts that injunction, but it does not resolve the underlying case, which will continue in federal court in San Francisco.
“We respectfully disagree with today’s decision on the preliminary injunction. We remain confident in our case and are evaluating our next steps.”
Amazon can seek a rehearing or ask the Supreme Court to review the decision. For now, the ruling clears the most immediate legal barrier to Comet’s Amazon shopping feature, while leaving the central dispute over automated access unresolved.
Enterprise Editor
Marcus follows the money. He covers enterprise software, cloud architecture, and the tectonic shifts in Big Tech strategy. He translates dense earnings calls and complex M&A activity into actionable insights about where the industry is actually heading. If a tech giant makes a silent pivot, Marcus is usually the first to notice.
via Engadget
