Last summer we hiked the Bruce Trail in Ontario, Canada, and discovered for myself that the local laws are NOT so free and permitting. You can't just set up camp anywhere you want, only on predefined campsites and trails. Without that freedom camping is -much- less fun.
I've lived at two Bruce Trail trailheads, and thankfully, most people are responsible. The problem where I am now is that these laws and rights of way were made when the population was much smaller. We get loiterers, "kids" but really people in their 20s from nearby suburbs with subwoofers in their cars parked at the trailhead and yelling. Rock faces on the trail are covered in spray paint, and not the grafitti art people are so sentimental about.
I could really see a revolt against these old rights as societies change. They were made for a different time culture where there was a recognition that what made them beautiful and desirable was our respective absence and invisibility. "Leave no trace" is a pretty refined value and it's not universal.