Of course FR FReepmail acts as an intermediary. If, for example, I sent you some FReepmail, it goes to the FR sever, where it is stored temporarily until such time as you read it.
If you don't read it, then, yeah, it doesn't go anywhere beyond FR's servers. If, on the other hand, you do read it, the provisions in the law have been met, as you've "downloaded" my message to your computer.
I could be wrong here, but where is the provision in the act specifying use of an "ISP" for these purposes?
Just wonderin'...
CA....
But, if JimRob were to delete a Freepmail message on his end, then that message would no longer be available to be read on the recipient's end, even if the recipient had already read that message in the past. That's what I mean when I say that freepmail isn't "downloaded" in the usual sense of the word.
Also--even if I'm wrong about the above--ECPA requires that the intruder access the message at the temporary-intermediate storage location. If the message has already been downloaded, accessing that message from within the recipient's account wouldn't be an ECPA violation. Say you get my Yahoo mail password, access my Yahoo account, and read my messages. That wouldn't be an ECPA violation. Accessing messages located at their endpoint isn't what the law is intended to prevent. The point of the law is to prevent accessing or intercepting messages at a spot other than the endpoint of the route. That's my understanding of ECPA at least. I could be wrong.
where is the provision in the act specifying use of an "ISP" for these purposes?
The facility accessed must be an "electronic communication service provider". That term has a specific legal meaning. It means ISPs, for the most part. Sure there's other things that fall within the definition, but I'm not sure that a web forum does.