You should google Wickard v. Filburn. The US Supreme Court ruled that the US government can regulate what you grow on your own land for your own consumption, because it affects inter-state trade.
And to say that it's just an ethics thing, is completely ignorant view. It's perfectly acceptable to torrent something when living in a country that wasn't deemed worthy by the rights holder to release their product there.
> like Germany, with all due respect to the Germans who still care about their privacy
What are you talking about? The german speaking world cares (maybe a bit too much) about privacy. This is why google street view sucks in Germany. NOYB - European Center for Digital Rights is headquartered in Vienna.