I was testing donated electronics at a local non-profit, to decide what to put on the shelves and what to recycle, when I found this:
Federal law prohibits anyone but registered users with hearing loss from using this device with Captions On.
I can understand the loudness warning on the ear end of the handset, but I'm puzzled as to why captioning a phone call would be illegal if you didn't need it.
What were the circumstances under which that prohibition came about? What is it trying to prevent? For example, is the prohibition based on concerns around eavesdropping or wiretapping? Is the captioning technology licensed under a restrictive license that permits its use only as a disability accommodation? Is the purchase cost of the device subsidized under some disability benefit program?
I've seen commercials for captioned phones, that are clearly not targeting me, but as far as I can tell, none of them mentioned that it's actually illegal for me to use their product for its advertised function.
Per the comments, here's the bottom too: