Edward Snowden joins Twitter
National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden has joined Twitter.
Snowden, who now lives in Russia after sharing top secret files with reporters more than two years ago, goes by the @snowden handle on the social network. His first tweet was "Can you hear me now?".
Twitter has verified the account, which sports a blue tick to show users its the real deal.
The wanted former intelligence officer references his controversial past in his profile's biography as well as his current role as a director at anarchist publishing house Freedom Press.
Snowden currently follows just one other user on the site - his former employer the NSA.
Despite being a fugitive in his homeland, Snowden has not strayed far from the media spotlight, taking part in several live streamed interviews since outing himself as the NSA leak. His online presence has been limited to date, consisting of a Reddit account used for question sessions.
Snowden burst into the public consciousness in 2013 when the Guardian newspaper revealed the NSA was collecting the telephone records of tens of millions of Americans. He came forward as the source and is alleged to have downloaded 1.7 million secret files before leaving the country. He faces charges there that could put him in prison for up to 30 years.