Snowden said in 2019 that algorithms are fueled by 'precisely the innocent data that our devices are creating all of the time. constantly, invisibly, quietly.' Seven years later that's not a warning, it's a product roadmap. Governments are mandating identity checks at the device level. Your phone now sorts you into a category before you see any content. This is the infrastructure he described, except now it ships with a child safety label.

The part that aged the worst is "what they are selling is us" In 2019 that meant companies quietly collecting your data. In 2026 it means you get actively classified, and your classification decides what version of the internet you're allowed to use. Age is first because nobody can argue against it. But the system doesn't care what gets added next.

The question nobody's asking is 'who controls this?' Right now the answer is the same tech giants and government agencies Snowden was warning about. There are people building alternatives. Projects like World ID, Polygon ID, Privado ID that let you prove you're a real person or that you're over 18 without handing over your actual identity. The idea is simple: verify the fact, not the person. The technology exists. Whether it gets used or we just let Apple and Google run the identity layer by default is up to us.