Given how scattered the islands in this Pacific archipelago are, print media are virtually non-existent. The void has been filled by the state-owned Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC), which operates Television Tonga and Radio Tonga. As for online news media, the landscape is dominated by the news portal Matangi Tonga, the outlet Talanoa ‘O Tonga and the New Zealand-based news site Kaniva Tonga. 

In this small archipelago of just over 100,000 inhabitants, the state of press freedom is directly dependent on changes in the political arena. After Siaosi ʻOfakivahafolau Sovaleni became prime minister in December 2021, Tongan journalists hoped concrete commitments would be made to ensure they had full editorial independence. These hopes were dimmed by the increasing interference of the current king, Tupou VI, which led to the Prime Minister’s resignation in December 2024. Since the king reasserted his royal power, journalists have been concerned about growing pressures on press freedom.

The constitution guarantees press freedom, but its enforcement has been erratic. The decade following the advent of democracy in 2010 was marked by a steady tightening of media-related legislation. In 2015, the government created an internet regulatory body with the power to block websites without a judge’s approval. From 2020 onwards, the government introduced repressive regulations, such as the Electronic Communication Abuse Offences Act, which punishes cyberharassment with a prison sentence of up to three years — even though no satisfactory definition of the term is provided. A set of eight regulations penalises the sharing of “sensitive” information without specifying what this means, creating a climate conducive to self-censorship.

Tonga’s media must grapple with a highly volatile economic environment. Under the ever-present threat of financial collapse, some journalists censor themselves for fear of angering advertisers, including the government. The situation worsened in the early 2020s when, in addition to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the archipelago’s media infrastructure was devastated by the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano and the ensuing tsunami on 15 January 2022.

Over the past decade, Tonga has made progress on issues involving women’s rights and their role in and at the helm of the media. Yet some topics are still off limits for the media, such as the police’s use of torture, the abolition of the death penalty and the persistence of the practice of child marriage. 

Journalists are not worried about being in any physical danger when on the job, and they are relatively unaffected by the possibility of prosecution. Nevertheless, self-censorship continues beneath the surface in a tight national community. In a difficult economic environment, many journalists are primarily concerned with their financial survival. The Media Association of Tonga plays a key role in defending press freedom.