Ninth Circuit Vacates Injunction Against Perplexity’s AI Agents

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction that had barred Perplexity from enabling users of its AI-powered browser to perform tasks on Amazon.com, ruling that Amazon was unlikely to show Perplexity violates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act because it is the user who accesses Amazon's platform. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, the ACLU, and the ACLU of Northern California filed an amicus brief urging the court to reject Amazon's broader interpretation of the laws. Jake Karr, staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute, said the decision is a win for user control and for independent journalism and research.

SAN FRANCISCO—The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today vacated a preliminary injunction that had barred Perplexity from enabling users of its AI-powered browser to perform tasks on Amazon.com. The court concluded that Amazon was unlikely to show that Perplexity “accesses” its computers in violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act CFAA and its California counterpart because it is the user, with the help of Perplexity’s AI tool, who accesses Amazon’s platform. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, the ACLU, and the ACLU of Northern California filed an amicus brief in the case urging the court to reject Amazon’s broader interpretation of the laws. The following can be attributed to Jake Karr, staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University: “Whatever you think of Perplexity or AI, this is a win for user control and for the independent journalism and research that help the public understand how online platforms shape public discourse. Computer crime laws like the CFAA shouldn’t be stretched to penalize tools that automate a user’s access to their own information.” Read today’s decision here https://knightcolumbia.org/documents/bx1xspxwhb . Read the Knight Institute’s amicus brief here https://knightcolumbia.org/documents/35m54tcgqq . Read more about the case here https://knightcolumbia.org/cases/amazon-v-perplexity-ai . For more information, contact: Lorraine Kenny, lorraine.kenny@knightcolumbia.org mailto:lorraine.kenny@knightcolumbia.org