Appeals court lifts ban on Perplexity's Amazon shopping tools
Amazon just lost a major court fight against Perplexity, the AI company behind shopping tools.
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said Perplexity didn't break any hacking laws when its AI helped users shop on Amazon, so the temporary ban is now lifted.
This case is a big deal because it's the first ruling by a federal appeals court to address whether AI agents acting on behalf of users can legally access online platforms.
Court: Amazon customers used perplexity tools
The court pointed out that it was actually Amazon customers using Perplexity's tools, not Perplexity itself, so no hacking happened.
This decision could make things easier for other "agentic" AIs in the future.
Perplexity called Amazon's lawsuit a "bald attempt" to block Amazon users from using Comet because AI agents don't have eyeballs to see the pervasive advertising Amazon bombards its users with, and said, "Perplexity will continue to fight for the right of internet users to choose whatever AI they want."
Meanwhile, Amazon says it's still figuring out its next move, and both sides are sticking with their legal arguments for now.