Media in Madagascar

Madagascar has established public, private and online media. The Code on Mediatized Communication, Law No. 2016-029, applies nationally to print media, audiovisual services, the internet, advertising and cinema. Law No. 2020-006 amended the framework and strengthened the institutional role of the Ordre des Journalistes de Madagascar, known as OJM. A press or online company generally operates with an editor or publication director who carries defined responsibility for published material. Articles 10 and 11 of the Constitution protect freedom of expression, communication, information and the press. The legal framework does not establish general prior censorship, but it also protects the rights of others and refers to public order, national dignity and state security. Journalists and media organizations therefore need to distinguish public-interest reporting from material that unlawfully harms privacy, dignity or other protected interests. The Code provides for legal sanctions, while source protection, editorial responsibility and liability need to be assessed separately in each case. The Ministère de la Communication et de la Culture oversees public media policy. The Autorité Nationale de Régulation de la Communication Médiatisée, or ANRCM, is the statutory authority for mediatized communication and is intended to handle formal procedures such as calls for applications and licensing for audiovisual services. The available evidence does not establish that the ANRCM currently exercises full independent and effective enforcement. ARTEC regulates telecommunications infrastructure, access and consumer matters, including mobile and internet services. Its consumer channel is 600. ORTM is the public radio and television institution and has public-service, neutrality, pluralism and information duties under the Code and the applicable broadcasting framework. OJM represents the professional self-regulatory dimension of journalism. Radio is usually the most accessible traditional medium. Television reaches fewer households, and newspaper reading remains limited. A 2018 MICS survey recorded radio reach below 50 percent for women and men, television reach below 25 percent and newspaper reading at about 10 percent. The same survey recorded mobile-phone ownership or access in 52 percent of households, computer access in 5 percent and home internet access at about 10 percent. These figures are dated. ARTEC indicators reported mobile penetration of 79.47 percent and internet penetration of 32.57 percent in 2023, with 3G population coverage at 98 percent and 4G coverage at 80 percent in 2024. The figures measure different aspects of access and should not be treated as interchangeable. Digital media and streaming exist mainly through mobile data, commercial services and global platforms. A separate, comprehensive local streaming category and a nationwide public streaming catalogue were not established in the available research. Access usually requires a compatible device, a SIM card, electricity and a data or paid television package. Prices and service quality depend on the provider and location. Regional differences in network, electricity and device access are likely, but the available research does not quantify them. There is no verified uniform national user fee, standard tariff or nationwide deadline for ordinary media use. Social media forms part of online mediatized communication rather than a separate local regulatory system. Risks include disinformation, cybercrime, surveillance and online violence. Law No. 2014-006 addresses cybercrime, and Law No. 2014-038 addresses personal data. These laws do not mean that every online dispute is a media-regulation matter; the applicable rules depend on the conduct, the content, the affected rights and the responsible institution. Children and young people make up a large share of the population: the 2018 MICS data recorded about 50 percent under age 18. Online safety concerns include exploitation, sexual abuse, bullying and harmful content. A 2021 UNICEF and ECPAT study covering six urban centres and more than 1,500 children aged 9 to 17 found internet use among 78 percent of participants, with 58 percent using the internet more than five times a week and 82 percent spending more than two hours per connection. These findings describe the study group and do not establish a national prevalence rate. Schools, parents, government child-protection services, NGOs and telecommunications programmes contribute to protection work. Youth participation has also used project-based formats such as Junior Reporters Clubs, active from 2007 to 2020, and One Minute Junior, launched in 2011, which trained young people in radio production and youth-focused reporting through partner stations. Operating a radio or television service involves a formal application or tender process, licensing and frequency requirements. Exact processing times and standard costs were not verified. Ordinary users generally finance access privately through devices, electricity, SIM cards, data packages, paid television or streaming subscriptions. A reform process involving the Ministry, Parliament, UNDP, UNESCO and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights was underway in 2026. It includes work on the communication code, cybercrime rules, access to public information and regulatory independence. A draft access-to-information project had been adopted by the Council of Ministers and was under parliamentary committee review; the reform should not be treated as current law until enacted.