Last week I reported that Amazon won a temporary federal injunction against Perplexity to block Comet browser from scraping its e-commerce website after Judge Chesney ruled that the retailer provided strong evidence of unauthorized access. I called that a point for Amazon.
Well, now the score is tied 1-1 after a U.S. appeals court subsequently suspended Judge Chesney’s ruling. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals paused the lower court order that was set to take effect on Tuesday, and the order will remain on hold while the federal appeals court considers Perplexity’s appeal.
The case stems back to November, when Amazon had filed a lawsuit against Perplexity to stop the company’s AI browser, Comet, from shopping on its website. Amazon had previously sent cease and desist notices to Perplexity, which it ignored, and tried to block Perplexity’s AI agents with technology, which it bypassed.
Perplexity argues that people should have a right to choose their own AI and that Amazon’s sole motivation was to keep consumers shopping directly on their website so that they can continue to serve them ads. While Amazon defends its right to protect itself against the risks that third-party AI agents bring to the customer experience and security of their shoppers. Amazon also noted its contractual obligation to its advertisers to serve ads to legitimate human users who will actually see them.
Perplexity originally wrote in a public statement back in November:
“Your AI assistant must be indistinguishable from you. When Comet Assistant visits a website, it does so with your credentials, your permissions, and your rights… Publishers and corporations have no right to discriminate against users based on which AI they’ve chosen to represent them.”
However I’ve got to challenge Perplexity on two things:
1) I’m not so sure that users want their AI assistants to be “indistinguishable” from them. Personally I don’t trust any AI agent enough to give it autonomy to browse the Internet using my identity or make purchases on my behalf. What if the AI agent goes rogue and starts browsing areas of the web it shouldn’t? Or downloads illegal content? Or makes a nonrefundable purchase for an item I don’t want? Think it can’t happen? AI agents have already reportedly shut down entire systems of multi-billion dollar platforms. Believe me, they can and do go rogue!
2) Perplexity is quick to defend its “rights” to represent its users, but takes absolutely no responsibility for doing so. The company’s own Terms of Service for its Comet browser explicitly states that you bear all the risk of using it, that Perplexity makes no warranties of any kind, and that any transaction the agent completes on a third-party platform is ‘solely between you and such third party provider’ — meaning if Comet buys something you didn’t want, accesses something it shouldn’t, or downloads something illegal, the consequences fall on you.
Perplexity argues that software is merely a tool, like a wrench, and that “large corporations have no right to stop you from owning wrenches.” It argues that Amazon “does not believe in your right to hire labor, to have an assistant or an employee acting on your behalf.”
However here’s the thing Perplexity… If I purchased a defective Crescent wrench and it broke in half and broke my nose while using it under normal conditions, I could sue Crescent. Similarly, if I hired an executive assistant who maxed out my company credit card with personal expenditures, I’d fire them and file criminal charges. You can’t claim to play the role of an assistant or employee while simultaneously taking no accountability for assuming the position. Well, technically you can, but it makes your whole argument bullshit in my opinion.
