US Court Blocks Perplexity's Comet Browser from Accessing Amazon
A U.S. federal judge issued a temporary injunction blocking Perplexity's Comet AI browser from accessing Amazon's website, ruling that Amazon showed strong evidence of unauthorized scraping. Amazon had sued Perplexity in November 2025, alleging the AI startup concealed its shopping agents to avoid detection and claiming the agents posed security risks to customer data while disrupting its advertising systems.
What happened
U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney issued a temporary injunction on March 10, 2026, blocking Perplexity's Comet AI browser from accessing Amazon's website. Amazon sued Perplexity in November 2025, alleging the startup took steps to conceal its AI agents so they could scrape Amazon's website without authorization.
Judge Chesney ruled that Amazon provided 'strong evidence' that Perplexity's Comet browser accessed Amazon's website 'without authorization' from the e-commerce company. The ruling included a weeklong stay to allow Perplexity to appeal.
Reported impact
Amazon stated it spent more than $5,000 responding to the issue, including 'numerous hours' where employees developed tools to block Comet from accessing private customer tools and prevent unauthorized access. Amazon said Perplexity's agents posed security risks to customer data because they 'can act within protected computer systems, including private customer accounts requiring a password.'
Amazon also said the agents created challenges for its advertising business, as AI-generated ad traffic had to be detected and filtered out before advertisers could be billed, requiring modifications to Amazon's advertising systems.
Index analysis
Perplexity characterized the lawsuit as a 'bully tactic' and stated it 'will continue to fight for the right of internet users to choose whatever AI they want.'
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.