What authorization does a media company need to provide radio or free-to-air television in El Salvador?

A natural or legal person generally applies to SIGET and provides the required technical and financial evidence for a concession or license. A concession normally lasts 20 years, with renewal and spectrum-fee rules applying to the service.

How can someone request public information through El Salvador's media and information system?

The requester submits an application to the responsible Unidad de Acceso a la Información Pública under the LAIP. The request is generally free, and a complaint to IAIP is available when an institution fails to respond or violates the access rules, subject to the applicable 90-day period.

What right to correction does a person have against a media report in El Salvador?

An affected natural or legal person may submit a written request for rectification or response to the medium. The medium must provide it without charge in the same or a similar form and with comparable placement.

What media protections apply to children and adolescents in El Salvador?

The Ley Crecer Juntos protects their rights to information, opinion, participation, privacy, honor and their own image. Media must protect them from harmful content, follow age-related safeguards and avoid identifying child or adolescent victims, witnesses, or accused or convicted young people.

How are streaming and social media accessed and paid for in El Salvador?

Users normally need an internet or mobile provider, a device and the relevant platform conditions. Streaming usually adds a commercial platform charge, while social media commonly creates mobile-data or broadband costs; no separate state media fee or social-media publication license was identified in the reviewed rules.

Media in El Salvador

Media in El Salvador includes print and digital press, radio and television, streaming, and social media. Press publication is generally protected without a broadcasting permit, while radio, free-to-air television and subscription television depend on concessions or licenses and technical rules. Streaming and social media rely mainly on internet and mobile services and have more fragmented regulation. Freedom of expression, access to public information, privacy, copyright, child protection and the right of rectification shape media use and production.

byMaria&Jose

El Salvador has formal public and private media, including newspapers, digital newsrooms, radio stations, television channels and subscription television. People generally access press through purchases, subscriptions or online services. SIGET, the telecommunications and electricity regulator, oversees spectrum, concessions, licenses, technical supervision and related registers. Its authorization system applies to radio and television services, not to print or online publication in the sources reviewed. A person or company that wants to provide free-to-air radio or television applies to SIGET and supplies the required technical and financial evidence. A concession normally lasts 20 years and can be renewed automatically for another period under the applicable rules. Spectrum users pay an annual fee, with payment due in October. Subscription television requires a license, channel and signal rights, notification to SIGET when channels change, and an annual report in July that includes the number of subscribers. El Salvador adopted the ISDB-Tb digital television standard in 2018. TVES channels are documented on 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3. Streaming has no separate local OTT or streaming title in the SIGET rules reviewed. Access usually comes through an internet or mobile provider and a commercial global platform. Users therefore pay the relevant connectivity and platform charges rather than a recognized state media fee. Copyright and broadcasting rights still apply, and unauthorized retransmission is prohibited. Social media has no separate user publication license. Access mainly depends on mobile data or broadband, a device and the platform's conditions, so regional differences usually concern coverage, provider availability and connectivity rather than different legal statuses. The Ley de Acceso a la Información Pública (LAIP) establishes public-information access through the Unidad de Acceso a la Información Pública and the Instituto de Acceso a la Información Pública (IAIP). Any natural or legal person, including children and adolescents and people from other countries, may submit a request. The service is generally free. If an institution does not respond or violates the access rules, the requester can complain to IAIP within the applicable 90-day period. LAIP follows maximum publicity, while reserved and confidential information remains subject to exceptions. Freedom of expression and information protects searching for, receiving and sharing information. Prior censorship, pressure and arbitrary barriers to information conflict with these protections. The right of rectification or response allows an affected natural or legal person to send a written request to a medium. The correction or response must be provided without charge in the same or a similar form and with comparable placement. This right applies to public and private media. Privacy, personal data and image rights limit media use. The Ley de Protección de Datos Personales adopted in 2024 provides rights of access, correction, deletion and objection, commonly described as ARCO-POL rights. The planned Agencia de Ciberseguridad del Estado forms part of the developing cybersecurity framework. The Ley de Propiedad Intelectual protects authors, related-rights holders, broadcasts and digital uses, so copying, publishing or retransmitting material requires an appropriate legal basis. The Ley Crecer Juntos protects children and adolescents' rights to information, opinion, participation, privacy, honor and their own image. It covers television, radio, print and electronic or digital media. Media providers must support age-appropriate educational, cultural, scientific and sports content and protect children from harmful material. Television programming includes a requirement for simultaneous sign-language interpretation in the relevant cases. The Órgano Ejecutivo defines radio and television time periods and age recommendations, and harmful content is prohibited during family viewing times. An internet service provider must provide free parental-control tools when requested. Reports may not identify child or adolescent victims, witnesses, or accused or convicted young people. Rectification and response remain available through the same medium. Journalism does not require a state journalist license in the sources reviewed. Journalists rely on freedom of expression and information, professional practice and access rights. APES, a journalists' association rather than a state authority, documented 789 aggressions against journalists and media in 2024, including restrictions, information blockades and digital pressure. The figure is specialist monitoring rather than official national statistics. People participate through formal information requests, the right of children and adolescents to express opinions and be heard, and informal community publishing or citizen journalism. CONAPINA's 2024 digital-environment consultation covered people aged 10 to 17, and a 2024 pilot consultation reached more than 2,000 children and adolescents in four departments. Social-media publishing does not automatically grant editorial access or permission to use broadcast frequencies. Public libraries and information services can provide free access for children and adolescents, while streaming usually costs a platform or connectivity tariff and social media commonly creates data and device costs.

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