A recent ruling from a US federal judge found that Amazon’s allegations against Perplexity hold significant weight. The court determined that Perplexity likely breached federal and California computer fraud laws by utilizing its Comet AI browser to access Amazon accounts that were secured with passwords without authorization. As a result, the judge mandated that Perplexity must halt its Comet AI agent's shopping capabilities on Amazon and eliminate any data acquired from this unauthorized access.
This decision is temporary, blocking the tool from entering secure sections of Amazon as the lawsuit progresses. Perplexity has a seven-day window to appeal the ruling before it becomes enforceable.
The lawsuit, which has been active since late last year, centers on Amazon's complaint that Perplexity's Comet browser employs an AI to simulate automated actions within user accounts, posing as legitimate users of Chrome. Amazon contends that this tool circumvented existing security measures, contravened the company’s terms of service, and continued its operations despite Amazon’s attempts to implement technical barriers and legal notifications.
In response to the perceived threats posed by Perplexity's actions, Amazon is seeking financial compensation and a judicial injunction that prohibits Perplexity from deploying AI agents to interact with Amazon's infrastructure or customer accounts in any manner.