Access to internet is free and not subject to any regulation by law. However, there is evidence of interference and even piracy of private accounts. Civil society organisations occasionally get involved, alongside the media, in the defense of media freedom. However there is no real commitment to this goal – either on their part or even on that of the media fraternity itself. There is a wide range of information sources available in the country: about sixty publications, ten television channels and more than 85 radio stations, roughly twenty of them in the capital Lomé. However, newspapers do not always appear regularly and are rather expensive (on average US$0,5 a copy), compared to the average income (less than sixty dollars per month). Radio stations are not allowed to rebroadcast foreign radio programmes without the authorisation of the HAAC. Sometimes even Radio France International is disrupted when it deals with topics considered sensitive for the country. A number of French media correspondents found it difficult to obtain accreditation to cover the presidential election in March 2010. Regarding local print media, prefects (local authorities) at times have newspapers confiscated. Print media distribution is rather limited, and there is no support from the state in this regard. Some panelists are of the view that this has political reasons and that the authorities do not want citizens to become well informed. Others say newspapers are indeed being read but away from the prying eyes of overzealous censoring prefects. The main problem though seems to be the high price of newspapers in relation to people’s limited buying power, especially in rural areas. This also explains why regional papers are almost non-existent. There is one daily newspaper published by the state. It has no editorial independence. Existing competition law in principle makes media concentration difficult. It stipulates specifically that no single natural or legal person is allowed to control more than 20% of all print publications or radio or television stations. However, the law has failed to prevent concentration in the media. The state provides some support to the media from the public purse but this is not necessarily motivated by concern about their viability or the diversification of the media landscape. Some panelists believe that the intended objective is rather to ensure the good will of journalists. This state support is not given regularly and the amounts differ. As regards media content women are given very little space. This is mainly due to cultural reasons. Women in Togo are not used to expressing themselves in 76 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TOGO 2010