Geopolitics & Empire

Hakeem Anwar: Preparing for Life Under Digital ID

Nov 6, 2025
Hakeem Anwar, a technologist and activist behind AbovePhone.com, dives into the alarming global rollout of digital identity systems. He reveals how organizations like the UN and Bill Gates finance these initiatives, making traditional services increasingly inaccessible without a digital ID. Hakeem discusses the dangers of biometric data, the push for mandatory registrations, and the intertwining of health and banking with digital IDs. He offers practical resistance strategies and emphasizes the urgency of adopting alternatives before restrictions tighten.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

What Digital ID Really Is

  • Digital ID is a cryptographic, extensible way to verify claims about any person or thing.
  • Interoperability means one digital identity can follow you across countries and services.
INSIGHT

Global Actors Drive Worldwide Rollout

  • UN, World Bank and private foundations fund and push interoperable digital ID globally, including low-income countries.
  • This creates a near-global rollout that makes escape increasingly difficult.
ANECDOTE

Nowhere To Run From Digital ID

  • Hakeem notes almost every country is pursuing digital ID; only a few places like Antarctica and Suriname are not.
  • He warns there is nowhere to run because programs are active globally.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app