Hacker News new | comments | show | ask | jobs | submit login JoshTriplett 17 minutes ago | parent Consider what it would actually mean to ban billboards. If they were on government-owned land near a highway, placed at the pleasure of the city or state, then sure, they can (and should) decide to retract that permission; no issue there. On the other hand, if they're on private land, then this suggests that a local government can ban you from posting a sign on your own property that's visible to others. Where does that stop, and on what basis could it occur at all? Within cities, I've seen signs posted on the sides of buildings, presumably with the full permission of the building owner, because the building happened to provide a convenient space visible to a fair bit of roadway. In residential areas, I've seen people post large signs on the sides or roofs of their houses,...