yea, I get that, but my gut tells me this doesn't pass the sniff test

It's a choice you make and action you take either way, be it not updating a canary or sending a covert financial transaction

That it has not been tested in court is why it's still a "theory" (hypothesis?)

My hope is that a jury of our peers would stay closer to the spirit than the letter of the law

Inaction is not action.

The choice to cease perform an act, when you have been consistently doing it, is itself an action

No, making a choice to do nothing is not considered action by any legal definition.