Sorry for the typo, that should read:
Wrong. When you bounce it <NOT> knowing the validity of the
bounce recipient you have less liability then if you bounce
it KNOWING that the bounce
recipient is invalid.
Where is the Mens Rea?
The UK obscene publications act is a criminal offense, the issue is
whether the action is criminal, not whether there is a civil liability.
What the computer 'knows' is not relevant to Mens Rea, only individuals
and corporations are subject to criminal law.
The last time an animal was prosecuted under English common law was
when the citizens of Sunderland hung a monkey as a spy during the
Napoleonic wars. The only occasion I am aware of in which an inanimate
object was put on trial was before the Norman Conquest when a statue
of the Virgin Mary was convicted of murder and is believed to lie in a
grave that can be seen from my parent's house.
Sure you can find some really obscure offenses if you dredge up obscure
parts of English law. That does not mean that there is the slightest
chance that a Home Secretary is ever going to allow a prosecution.