Media in Paraguay

Paraguay has no single institution responsible for every media function. CONATEL, the National Telecommunications Commission, regulates broadcasting and telecommunications. MITIC, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, manages public digital initiatives and state media structures. DINAPI, the National Directorate of Intellectual Property, deals with copyright and related rights. MINNA, the Ministry of Children and Adolescents, and CODENI, the municipal council for the rights of children and adolescents, are involved in child-protection matters. Public institutions also publish information under the access-to-public-information rules established by Law 5282/2014. The main forms of media are prensa escrita, radio, television, digital news, state media, social networks, instant messaging and streaming. Internet use is widespread but not uniform. The 2025 EPHC recorded internet use by approximately 4.428 million people aged 10 and over, or 85.4%. The rate was 88.2% in urban areas and 77.8% in rural areas. Access was mainly through mobile phones, used by 96.9% of internet users, while 78.6% also accessed the internet at home. Use was highest in Asunción, Central and Alto Paraná and lower in departments such as San Pedro, Caazapá and Caaguazú. MITIC reported 404 public Wi-Fi points operating across all municipalities on August 3, 2026. Device ownership, electricity, mobile data and fixed-line availability still affect practical access. Messaging was used by 97.8% of internet users in 2025, telephone services by 94.8%, social networks by 86.4% and games, videos or films by 71.7%. These figures show why mobile and online media are central to everyday information access. They do not mean that every source is equally reliable or that every person has the same quality of connection. Children aged 10 to 14 had a much lower internet-use rate of 55.9%, which makes age, supervision and access conditions relevant when media services are assessed. Radio and television broadcasting are formally regulated by CONATEL. A radio or television company needs the required technical and service approvals, a licence or title, and an installation that follows Paraguay's National Frequency Plan. FM and AM radio, television, cable distribution, DATDH and digital services appear in CONATEL's relevant registers. Digital terrestrial television uses the ISDB-TB standard. Receiving free terrestrial radio and television signals normally does not require a subscription, while cable distribution and similar services can charge fees. Licence, frequency-use and inspection charges apply to companies and institutions that provide broadcasting services, with procedures and timing depending on the specific authorisation. Community radio is a legally recognised but limited form of participation. Under Laws 642/1995 and 4179/2011, small coverage may use up to 50 watts and medium coverage up to 300 watts. A legally established non-profit intermediary organisation can apply through CONATEL when it meets the technical and legal requirements. Community stations may serve cultural, educational, artistic and informative purposes, but they may not operate as commercial businesses, carry advertising or propaganda, or lease the authorisation. A special 2025 tariff rule concerns indigenous community radios. State media include Paraguay TV, Radio Nacional del Paraguay, regional radio stations, Agencia IP and other digital services administered through MITIC and the Directorate General of State Media. They provide public information through television, radio, websites and social platforms. Reported 2025 figures included an average Paraguay TV permanent-stream audience of about 4,500 people per month, 68,319,138 Facebook and Instagram reach units for state media, and 1,251,914 unique users of state-media websites. State information fulfils a public-information function, but it should not automatically be treated as independent journalism. The Constitution requires democratic, plural and equal access to state media. Streaming in Paraguay is fragmented. No separate national streaming regulator or unified Paraguayan streaming-access system was identified in the reviewed framework. People generally use internet connections, mobile data, web streams, video-on-demand services, cable or DATDH and international or private platforms. Access depends on an account where required, a suitable device, sufficient bandwidth and the fees charged by the platform or connectivity provider. Streaming, reproduction, distribution and public communication can involve copyright and related rights, so copying or publicly sharing protected material generally requires the rights holder's permission unless a legal exception applies. Social networks and instant messaging allow low-threshold publication, commenting, campaigning and live broadcasts. Paraguay has no single platform authority for all social-media services. Connectivity falls within CONATEL's sphere, state channels are handled by public institutions including MITIC, and content rights are addressed through DINAPI and copyright law. The 2025 general personal-data protection law, Law 7593, also affects the collection and publication of personal information. A post can therefore raise separate questions about freedom of expression, copyright, privacy, personal data, protection from violence and child protection. The Constitution protects freedom of expression, press freedom, freedom from censorship, source protection and journalistic copyright. Law 1328/1998 covers copyright and related rights in audiovisual and radio works, including reproduction, distribution, public communication and digital transmission. Law 5777/2016 provides media guidelines concerning violence and discrimination against women. Public-information requests can be submitted to a public institution by describing the requested information clearly and naming a preferred format. The institution should answer within 15 working days under the cited framework. No uniform fee for access to press content was established in the reviewed research; subscriptions, data charges, licensing fees and provider prices vary by service. Media organisations and users must take special care with children and adolescents. Law 1680/2001 and Law 6083/2018 protect them in digital information transmission, messaging services and social networks. Media must not publish the name, image, audio or other identifying data of a child or adolescent who is a victim, suspected offender, accident or disaster witness, or victim of another rights violation, and interviews are prohibited in those cases. Law 7605/2025 provides a specific exception for missing-person cases. Article 32 of the Children's Code also prohibits supplying children or adolescents with unprotected pornographic material, harmful video games or unrestricted and unfiltered internet access. MINNA, CODENI and the specialised juvenile court system can become involved when protection measures are needed. Reliable assessment requires separating the source from the format. Check public claims against primary material from public institutions, BACN, CONATEL, INE, MITIC or DINAPI where relevant. Compare state-media reports, private journalism, platform posts and user contributions according to their source, evidence, date and editorial responsibility. Paraguay has no single national media-literacy or fact-checking institution covering the whole field in the reviewed framework. A social-media post can therefore be useful evidence of what someone published without proving that its factual claim is correct.