Unverified: Corporate Gatekeepers, Age Mandates, and the Fight for Digital Freedom

Unverified is a powerful exposé and manifesto for the digital age.In 2025–2026, Meta spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying for age verification laws that would force Apple and Google to verify every user’s age at the app store level — while conveniently exempting its own platforms. What was sold as “child protection” was actually a sophisticated corporate campaign to shift liability, build permanent surveillance infrastructure, and accelerate the Balkanization of the open internet.From statehouses across America to the halls of Brussels and Berlin, governments and tech giants are quietly replacing the anonymous, pseudonymous web with a system of mandatory digital ID. The result? A more fragmented, more surveilled, and far less free internet — sold to us in the name of safety.Drawing on investigative research, lobbying disclosures, technical analysis, and the spirit of the original cypherpunks, Unverified reveals:How Meta engineered the App Store Accountability Act and similar laws worldwideWhy age verification systems are inaccurate, discriminatory, and privacy-destroyingHow these mandates are already chilling speech, harming marginalized communities, and enriching Big TechThe real alternatives: zero-knowledge proofs, user-controlled credentials, and genuine privacy by designThis is not just another book about privacy. It is a call to reclaim digital sovereignty before the window closes.If you care about internet freedom, human rights, or the future of an open society, this book is for you.The verified age is upon us. The choice is still ours. Read more