I think the "American" version is the one that's outdated, if anything. The German one is a bit too restrictive, sure, but I'd rather lean a little towards too much privacy than too little.
I don’t know. I would move the restriction on the distribution more than the recording itself. Though I’m happy I didn’t move to the US when I had the opportunity, the German privacy laws are closer to my personal values than the US, I find the whole concept of having no privacy as soon as you’re in a public place pretty terrible