The third episode of the BBC2 series Virtual Revolution finally fulfills the expectations set by the ambitious theme of the programme.

‘The Cost of Free’ examines the seemingly free nature of the web, weighing it against issues of privacy.

The introduction period of the series is clearly over and the third part manages to present interesting views and some real debate between the interviewees.

Aleks Krotoski, the presenter, is still wandering around with a thoughtful (or at times, determined) look on her face, but the slightly awkward cutaway shots are substantially less disturbing when there’s something to ponder with her.

Starting from the buzzing dotcom boom of the 1990′s, the episode outlines the huge potential of targeted marketing the web provides and takes it further by asking how online advertising and behavioral targeting is affecting us, if at all.

The episode starts to really take off when it focuses on the enormous success of Google, portraying its journey from the simple project of two Stanford University students to a global phenomenon, holding world’s information in its hands.

The debate about behavioral targeting builds up towards the end, making viewers really question their thoughts about privacy and web usage. On one side there are the arguments of Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, comparing targeted advertising to the redesigning of a shop for each customer individually. On the other end you’ve got Douglas Rushkoff, Author of Lice Inc. arguing that targeting advertising is making us “stereotypically more like ourselves” and therefore less like we really are.

In terms of privacy, one of the most interesting parts of the show highlights American web giant AOL’s stunt in 2006 when the company released a list of all its searches from the last three months. Together with New York Times journalist, David Gallagher, a disturbing story of the illusion of anonymity is unfolded. With only a tiny amount of research, Gallagher was able to identify a person behind one of the “anonymous id numbers”.

The programme ends with Harvard researcher Dana Boyd’s example of The Netherlands collecting information about their citizens in the early twentieth century with the best of intentions. Details such as religion were meant to be used to give different people suitable funerals but were later harnessed by the Nazis to meet a completely different purpose.

The Virtual Revolution series ends next week by examining social networks. After the third episode, I’m happy to say my expectations are finally high.

Watch the third episode on BBC iPlayer

Visit the programme website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/virtualrevolution/