By TFL
Publication Date: 2026-10-16 13:11:00
Perplexity is pushing back against Amazon’s expanded legal challenge to its AI-powered shopping agent, arguing that the e-commerce giant has failed to state viable claims under computer-access laws or for interference with its customer agreements. In a new motion filed in the Northern District of California, Perplexity asks the court to dismiss Amazon’s amended complaint, including its newly added claim for tortious interference with contract.
Challenging Amazon’s Contract Claim
In its October 13 motion to dismiss, Perplexity argues that Amazon’s Conditions of Use constitute an at-will contract, which, under the California Supreme Court’s decision in Ixchel Pharma, LLC v. Biogen, Inc., requires a showing of independently wrongful conduct. Perplexity maintains that Amazon cannot meet that requirement through its allegedly deficient claims under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) and California’s Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act (“CDAFA”). It also argues that Amazon has failed to identify a specific contractual counterparty or adequately allege intentional interference with its customer agreements.
Amazon added the contract claim in its September 21 amended complaint, alleging that Perplexity knowingly induced customers to violate its Conditions of Use by enabling them to use Comet to access Amazon’s marketplace despite the company’s restrictions. In May 2025, Amazon introduced AI-specific provisions,…