WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Amazon ( AMZN ) violated

consumer protection law by gathering Prime subscribers' billing

information before disclosing the service's terms, a judge ruled

on Wednesday, handing the U.S. Federal Trade Commission a

partial win.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge John Chun in the case

accusing Amazon ( AMZN ) of deceptive practices to generate Prime

subscriptions puts the company at a disadvantage at trial.

The FTC is poised to argue that the online retailer signed up

tens of millions of customers for Prime without their consent,

and thwarted tens of millions of cancellation bids through

complex cancellation methods.

The agency says those actions violated the Restore Online

Shoppers Confidence Act (ROSCA).

"Today's decision affirms that Amazon ( AMZN ) defrauded American

consumers by failing to disclose all terms of prime before

collecting consumer's payment information," said Chris

Mufarrige, head of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection.

"The Trump-Vance FTC intends to make them whole."

The judge also ruled that two Amazon ( AMZN ) executives were liable for

any violations the FTC proves at trial, while barring Amazon ( AMZN )

from arguing that ROSCA did not apply to Prime signups.

A spokesperson for Amazon ( AMZN ) did not immediately return a request

for comment. The company has denied the accusations.