AI proxy shopping banned! Amazon wins court injunction, successfully stopping the Perplexity robot

U.S. Court Approves Preliminary Injunction Against Perplexity, Requiring Stop of Unauthorized Shopping via Comet AI, Clarifying Legal Boundaries of User Consent and Platform Authorization

Recently, a significant development occurred in the lawsuit between AI startup Perplexity and global e-commerce giant Amazon. A U.S. federal court officially approved Amazon’s request for a preliminary injunction this Monday. The injunction orders Perplexity to cease using its “Comet” AI browser proxy to log into Amazon’s platform for automatic shopping without authorization.

Core Dispute and Court’s Preliminary Ruling in the Lawsuit

Amazon accuses Perplexity’s “Comet” AI proxy of disguising itself as a regular browser to evade detection and automate order placement, alleging computer fraud. The federal court approved the preliminary injunction this week, with the judge emphasizing that even if Comet obtains user consent to operate on their behalf, because it lacks official authorization from Amazon, it must stop accessing Amazon’s systems and destroy related data. This ruling marks the first clear legal boundary between “user permission” and “platform authorization,” though its enforcement is temporarily suspended for one week to allow Perplexity to appeal.

Defending Business Models and Digital Advertising Impact

From a macro industry perspective, this lawsuit is essentially a defensive move by major platforms against existing business models. When AI proxies can automatically compare prices and check out, bypassing platform-designed recommendations and ad placements, Amazon’s advertising revenue could be directly affected. This not only threatens the profit engine of the e-commerce giant but also forces the marketing industry to reassess resource allocation and interaction strategies.

Future of AI Proxy Commerce and Market Regulations

This ruling establishes a preliminary compliance framework for emerging “proxy-based commerce.” For investment markets and the AI industry, it signifies that technological innovation cannot indefinitely override platform service terms. Moving forward, AI proxies aiming for widespread commercial use will need to become transparent and secure legitimate permissions through cooperation agreements with platforms. This event will also accelerate tech giants’ efforts to develop industry access standards, promoting the creation of new regulations to balance technological innovation with platform data protection.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: 《Chain News》
• Original Title: “Amazon Wins Court Injunction to Block Perplexity AI Proxy Shopping”
• Original Author: Florence