Bolivia’s media system is formally established but highly fragmented. It includes state and commercial broadcasters, social-community media (Social-Comunitario), and media of Indigenous, intercultural, peasant, and Afro-Bolivian communities. The state media system includes, among others, Bolivia TV, Radio Illimani–Red Patria Nueva, RPO, ABI, and Ahora el Pueblo. Press and journalism are shaped, among other instruments, by Law 494 (Ley 494), the Press Law (Ley de Imprenta), and the National Code of Journalistic Ethics (Código Nacional de Ética Periodística). Prior state censorship is not provided for; journalistic self-regulation, source protection, corrections, and the right of reply play a central role. False or tendentious information, sensationalism, impermissible influence on sources, intrusions into privacy, prejudging, and accepting impermissible benefits conflict with the applicable journalistic rules. The Constitution protects the right to communication and information and freedom of opinion and expression. It also guarantees correction and reply, prohibits prior censorship, and limits monopolies and oligopolies in the media sector. Media are expected to disseminate reliable and responsible content and may offer multilingual educational programs and alternative language versions for people with disabilities. The competent telecommunications regulator (ATT) regulates and supervises telecommunications, information and communication technologies, broadcasting, frequencies, and user complaints. The Ministry of Public Works, Services and Housing (Ministerio de Obras Públicas, Servicios y Vivienda) is responsible for sectoral frequency policy and the National Frequency Plan (Plan Nacional de Frecuencias). Providers need an ATT license to use broadcasting frequencies. Under Law 164 (Ley 164), up to 33 percent of frequencies are allocated to state media, up to 33 percent to commercial media, up to 17 percent to social-community media, and up to 17 percent to Indigenous, intercultural, peasant, and Afro-Bolivian media. Allocations follow the frequency plan, the relevant procedure, and, where applicable, a tender. The ATT also supports communities seeking access to such licenses; in 2025, this included the “Lucho por la Voz del Pueblo” course. Media access increasingly runs through mobile networks. In the first half of 2025, there were 11.86 million active mobile lines, corresponding to a penetration rate of 112 percent. Around 98 percent of lines had mobile internet, and approximately 90 percent were prepaid connections. 11.13 million connections used 3G, 4G, or LTE; approximately 67,585 GSM lines enabled voice communication only. Regional coverage remains uneven: mobile penetration was 72 percent in Potosí, 75 percent in Beni, 84 percent in Chuquisaca, and 86 percent in Pando. These figures concern registered connections and do not fully reflect actual use outside the department where a connection is registered. Fixed-line connections reached household penetration of 39.4 percent. Of these, 95.35 percent were FTTX connections; household penetration was 22.7 percent in Potosí and 43.1 percent in Cochabamba. The central development region accounted for 76.9 percent of connections. Cable television reached around 13 percent of households in June 2025 and lost a total of 26,610 connections, or 5.27 percent, from 2024 through the first half of 2025. Streaming is reinforcing this decline. Services used in Bolivia include Disney Plus, Star Plus, HBO, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Paramount Plus. No uniform national OTT provider or state end-user access is documented. Prices depend on the mobile or fixed-line provider and, for streaming, on the relevant platform. According to the ATT, mobile prepaid offers were available from Bs2 for 200 MB valid for 24 hours. There is no uniform national price basis for internet, television, and streaming. Daily use of social networks and messaging services is approximately 39 to 51 percent depending on area and gender; for streaming, it is approximately 34 to 43 percent. Device access, digital skills, rural coverage, and gender-specific differences affect actual use. There is no separate national end-user regime for social networks and OTT services; private platform rules apply in addition to Bolivian protection and media rules. Digital terrestrial television uses the ISDBT-Tb standard. Its introduction is continuing. The digital channel plan under R.M. 249/2024 and an ATT tender for commercial value-creation channels in 2025 provide the basis for this process. To receive the signal, a household needs a suitable device and must be located within a local reception area. Children and adolescents receive special protection under Law 548 (Ley 548) for their privacy, intimacy, identity, and family environment. This also applies to victims, witnesses, and accused persons; their identities and procedural information may have to remain confidential. Digital reproduction and forwarding through social networks are also covered by this protection. Media must additionally provide state educational, cultural, and informational content for children and adolescents: audiovisual media must provide at least ten minutes per month during preferred broadcast time, radio stations at least 20 minutes per month, and daily or weekly newspapers at least one page per month. Digital newspapers must provide a preferred, easily readable section for this purpose. Multilingual and alternative educational, cultural, and informational content should appear on television and radio at least twice a week and in print and digital media at least once a week. Violations may be sanctioned with administrative fines of UFV 5,000 to 15,000 for the first violation, UFV 15,001 to 25,000 for the second, and, from the third violation onward, with a sanction increased by one third. For electoral propaganda, Law 026, Article 119(j) (Ley 026 Art. 119(j)) prohibits the direct use of images of children and adolescents. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Supremo Electoral) supervises electoral advertising. An ordinary political statement on social networks is not automatically electoral propaganda; classification depends on the specific content, purpose, and context. The Ombuds Office (Defensoría del Pueblo) monitors human rights issues, local Child and Adolescent Ombuds Offices (Defensorías de la Niñez y Adolescencia) support the protection of children and adolescents, and the Government Agency for Electronic Government and Information and Communication Technologies (AGETIC) works on digital access, skills, and studies. Publishing through social networks or a community medium is practically accessible, whereas operating one’s own broadcasting station requires an operator structure, a frequency, and a licensing procedure. Anyone who considers themselves affected by telecommunications or information and communication technology (TIC) services should first contact the provider and then the ATT as a second instance. The ATTención 360° service desk (ATTención 360°) and technical complaints through mireclamo.bo support this procedure; no fee for a user complaint is stated. Evaluating a media service therefore requires considering not only content and platform, but also coverage, device, data costs, license status, journalistic responsibility, privacy, and the protection of children and adolescents.
Media in Bolivia
Media in Bolivia includes state, commercial, social, and Indigenous media, as well as the press, broadcasting, streaming, and social networks. Access and use depend heavily on mobile internet, devices, skills, and regional coverage; television and radio remain particularly important where fixed-line services or streaming are less accessible. Constitutional protections cover communication, information, freedom of opinion and expression, and correction and reply, while rules also govern media diversity, journalistic responsibility, privacy, and the protection of children and adolescents.
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