Ninth Circuit Lifts Restrictions on Agentic AI Accessing Amazon

Created by ChatGPT Dec. 2025 by guest blogger Kieran McCarthy I recently described the district court’s decision in the case of Amazon v. Perplexity as “a shockingly poor effort to grapple with CFAA applicability to agentic AI technology.” The Ninth Circuit appears to have agreed. This week, the Ninth Circuit panel published its opinion vacating the district court’s preliminary injunction and remanding for further proceedings. Amazon.com Services, LLC v. Perplexity AI, Inc., 2026 WL 2237587 (9th Cir. Aug. 4, 2026). The panel determined that Amazon was not entitled to a preliminary injunction because it was not likely to succeed on the merits of its CFAA claim. The court concluded that Perplexity did not “access” Amazon’s computers within the meaning of the CFAA, but rather it was the user who accessed Amazon’s computers. The panel also concluded that Amazon was equally unlikely to succeed on the merits of its CDAFA claim for the same reasons. The panel also concluded that the…