Dictators hate seeing the image of their harmonious society shattered by people telling it like it is. China, Iran, etc, block twitter because they let people speak their minds with less fear of retribution. An NSA-proof version means they can't do anything to ensure that everyone toes the party line.

Not if you live in a dictatorship.

Yes it is. And so is Twister. But the millions who use Twitter to quietly follow people/things could potentially be profiled [1] and labeled ''terrorist™'' by association.

> Twister is designed to prevent other users from knowing (...) who you follow.

Essentially, Twister prevents the NSA from profiling you as an 'undesirable' based on who you follow.

[1] http://www.cs.umd.edu/~golbeck/pubs/Golbeck%20et%20al.%20-%2...

The message is meant to be read, but the user behind the alias may not be public.

Yes the point of Twitter is to shout out stuff, but if NSA wanted to, it could shut you up permanently, that's why Twister is fighting against censorship, not for your privacy.

you can send direct messages as well that are private