A federal judge in San Francisco has issued a temporary order that prevents Perplexity AI Inc.’s Comet web browser agent from completing purchases on Amazon.com Inc.’s online marketplace and from accessing password-protected portions of the retailer’s systems.
The ruling, dated Monday, is provisional while the parties litigate the broader question of whether shopping bots developed by one company may lawfully make purchases on a second company’s website without that second company’s consent. The judge’s decision is limited in duration to allow Perplexity time to seek an appeal.
Amazon initiated the litigation in November, alleging that Perplexity committed computer fraud by failing to disclose when Comet was acting on behalf of a real person and by continuing to operate after Amazon asked for the practice to stop. The company argued that Comet, operating with a user’s permission, accessed password-protected customer accounts without authorization from Amazon.
District Judge Maxine Chesney, who is overseeing the case in federal court in San Francisco, said Amazon had presented strong evidence that Perplexity’s Comet uses account-holder credentials to reach areas of Amazon’s site that are otherwise password-protected. The judge’s order specifically mentions Prime subscriber accounts as among the protected areas Comet must cease accessing.
Amazon spokesperson Lara Hendrickson, in an emailed statement, said the preliminary injunction will stop what the company described as unauthorized access to its store and called the order an important step toward preserving a trusted shopping experience for Amazon customers. The company also said it intends to continue presenting its arguments in court.
The injunction requires Perplexity to stop accessing password-protected sections of Amazon’s systems and to destroy any copies of Amazon data obtained from such access. The immediate effect of the ruling is temporarily stayed for one week to allow Perplexity the opportunity to file an appeal.
Context and legal posture
The order is a preliminary, temporary remedy as the court and the parties determine the legality of third-party shopping agents that transact on behalf of users. The one-week stay of the order’s effect gives Perplexity a narrow window to contest the injunction at the appellate level while the underlying lawsuit proceeds in the district court.