In a new poll conducted by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, some 46 per cent said the bill was not workable with only 14 per cent of tech professionals believing the legislation was ‘fit for purpose’.

The Online Safety Bill would put a duty on tech giants like Facebook and Google to develop systems to identify and remove illegal material, as well as deal with content that is harmful to adults and children. Ofcom would enforce this as the regulator.

But the poll found that the majority of IT specialists (58 per cent) said it would have a negative effect on freedom of speech, with only 19 per cent saying that the measures proposed would make the internet safer.

Last month, the Institute of Economic Affairs warned the bill could hand the Secretary of State and Ofcom “unprecedented powers to define and limit speech, with limited parliamentary or judicial oversight”.

There were nearly 1,300 responses from tech professionals to the survey by BCS.

The government...