Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked details of U.S. surveillance programs, tweeted: "Can you hear me now?"<br />at about noon ET Tuesday.<br />Twitter verified the account.<br />Snowden amassed more than 300,000 followers in two hours.<br />He was following one account - the NSA.<br />The NSA did not immediately follow him back.<br />Snowden, now 31, is a North Carolina native who once spent four months in the Army.<br />He was a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton when he leaked details of U.S. surveillance programs to The Guardian and The Washington Post.<br />The first reports were published in June 2013, setting off an immediate global firestorm.<br />Snowden said he was staying busy with "secret" projects for the Freedom of the Press Foundation but added that he "still finds time for cat pictures."
