# Amazon Blocks Meta's Muse Agent and Escalates Perplexity Suit

> Amazon blocked Meta's Muse shopping agent and amended its Perplexity lawsuit over session cookies. Platform sovereignty vs. AI agency clashes escalate.

- URL: https://roobrief.com/en/posts/amazon-blocks-meta-muse-ai-agents
- Language: en
- Published: 2026-10-24T01:38:00.000Z
- Tags: ai, dev
- Source: https://www.reuters.com/technology/amazon-blocks-meta-muse-ai-agent-2026-10-20/

**Amazon has blocked Meta's Muse shopping agent and filed a 41-page amended complaint against Perplexity over session cookies, taking a hardline stance against third-party AI agents.**

As AI agents (programs that carry out multi-step tasks for you on their own) increasingly navigate websites and execute checkouts on behalf of consumers, the battle for sovereignty over agentic commerce is shifting into courtrooms and WAF configurations.

## Meta's Muse Blocked by Bot Defenses

Meta recently rolled out Muse, an autonomous shopping assistant designed to find products and complete purchases across the web. However, users attempting to check out on Amazon quickly hit bot-detection barriers that halted execution.

Amazon clarified its position in a statement, declaring that "continued access by unauthorized AI agents violates Amazon's Conditions of Use." The e-commerce giant argued that unvetted automated agents expose user credentials and payment sessions to security vulnerabilities while triggering mass unauthorized web scraping.

Meta countered that Muse operates inside isolated virtual machine environments and relies on Link by Stripe, meaning its AI models never directly access or view raw passwords or credit card numbers. Despite this, Amazon continues to block all unauthorized bots at the edge.

## Ninth Circuit Ruling and the 41-Page Amended Complaint

Amazon's parallel legal fight against Perplexity over its Comet shopping assistant has also taken a dramatic turn. On Aug. 4, 2026 (No. 26-1444), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated a lower court's preliminary injunction against Perplexity. The appellate court held that because Comet ran locally on user devices, it could be treated as an authorized action taken on the user's behalf, making it difficult to claim an outright unauthorized computer access violation under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

In response, Amazon submitted a technical 41-page First Amended Complaint on Sept. 21, 2026. Amazon alleged that Comet for iOS does not execute solely on device; instead, it claimed the app forwards authenticated Amazon session cookies (browser session identifiers that maintain login state) to Perplexity's cloud infrastructure, which then initiates direct server-side requests to Amazon.

Beyond statutory CFAA claims, Amazon added a claim for tortious interference with customer contracts. Amazon argues that Perplexity knowingly induces users to breach Amazon's terms of service. Perplexity responded in October 2026 with a motion to dismiss the amended lawsuit.

## Hardline Defense vs. Walmart's Agent Gateway

Retail platforms are splitting into two distinct philosophies. Amazon is maintaining a closed posture, relying on web application firewalls (WAF) and terms of service to shut out third-party bots. Unlike traditional search crawlers, autonomous purchasing agents consume compute resources while bypassing sponsored product placements and recommendation engines that drive high-margin ad revenue.

Walmart, by contrast, is pursuing a selective integration strategy. The company launched an "Agent Gateway" along with verified agent identity profiles. Rather than outright blocking automated traffic, Walmart aims to bring third-party agents under platform control through structured authentication and governed API endpoints.

## What to Watch

- **CFAA and Cookie Delegation Ruling**: The court's decision on Perplexity's motion to dismiss will clarify whether passing authenticated session cookies through cloud servers constitutes unlawful intrusion or legitimate user-directed delegation.
- **WAF and Agent Identity Standards**: How the industry resolves tensions between website operator sovereignty and user agency—especially regarding machine-readable agent headers and standardized handshakes—will dictate the future of agentic web browsing.

## Sources

- [Reuters Report](https://www.reuters.com/technology/amazon-blocks-meta-muse-ai-agent-2026-10-20/)
- [Amazon Statement](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/unauthorized-ai-agents-statement)
- [Ninth Circuit Ruling](https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/opinions/)
- [Amazon Amended Complaint](https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/amazon-v-perplexity/)