In the report 'The price of free internet' we answer the questions of the Standing Committee for Digital Affairs of the House of Representatives. They asked us to investigate how online tracking works and how online tracking affects public values ​​such as privacy, autonomy and security. We show that current legislation and regulations offer protection in theory, but that practice is stubborn. That is why we call for a serious debate on two alternative policy directions: advertising without far-reaching tracking, or paid services. That sounds simple. But these are major changes that the Netherlands cannot achieve on its own. Yet this discussion is necessary, because privacy, autonomy and security are too important to click away via a pop-up.