The Conservative government's widely criticized online surveillance legislation may be on the back burner, but another bill that would expand police access to Internet users' data is about to resurface. Bill C-12 would make it easier for authorities - possibly including private security firms - to obtain information about subscribers from Internet service providers, email hosts and social media sites on a voluntary basis.

The legislation also includes provisions that could effectively impose a gag on the companies, preventing them from telling customers their personal details have been shared. Government House leader Peter Van Loan recently signalled the little-noticed bill could come up for second-reading debate as early as Wednesday.

The likely re-emergence of the bill comes eight months after a storm of outrage over another, highly publicized attempt to boost Internet surveillance. Bill C-30 alarmed civil libertarians because it would allow authorities access to Internet subscriber information - including names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses - without a warrant in cases where companies refused to provide it voluntarily.