In the name of free speech, Bambuser, the live video broadcasting service, announced in a blog post on Tuesday it decided to give away a special free Bambuser premium status to activists and citizen journalists.

The blog post explains that their decision was motivated by the increased use of Bambuser by activists and citizen journalist especially in Syria. "Over the past years we've seen more and more activists and citizen journalists use Bambuser to broadcast real-time information about activities and events when they happen. We think that user generated content broadens the overall picture of what's actually going on, and is needed to complement professional news reporting. It can also, as we've seen for example in Syria, break news for the world to see," the post says.

Since the beginning of the uprising against Bashar al-Assad, activists have been using live streaming video services as well as youtube to record abuses committed by the regime and let the world know what is going on in the country. Citizen journalists are a primordial source of information for international media as the Syrian regime has banned international journalists from entering the country and jailed local reporters to prevent them from covering the revolution.

The Premium Bambuser accounts include an ad-free player, unlimited viewing hours and storage, as well as player customization and extended statistics which will enable Bambuser users to know more about the people viewing their footage or visiting their channel.