For y’all that don’t love SCOTUS days and live in #AustinTx, the Court ruled in favor of Austin’s decision to deny billboard operators their request to digitize their signs.
There were some unanswered questions so the case was sent back to the lower courts, so not over.
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A quick tl;dr. Austin does not allow billboards or other “off-premise” signs. Signs that were already up can remain as long as they are modified beyond the status quo. Billboard operators asked to digitize. City said no.
Operators sued under the First Amendment saying, since the City allows on-premise digital signs, they are suppressing speech. City argues (and Court agreed) that their difference is “content neutral” per previous Court precedent.
That said, the Court found unanswered if the City’s justification for the rule met the standard for government interest. If it does, rule is fine. If it doesn’t, the First Amendment violation may still exist.
Sent back to the lower courts to wrestle with that.