Governments are increasingly regulating social media (SM) to curb harms such as sexual exploitation, disinformation, and hate speech. However, we cannot assume that such policies are best serving users’ agency, which can be defined as users’ abilities to shape their online experiences in alignment with their goals. A critical question is whether policymakers see users as only requiring protection, or as also needing agency enhancement (i.e., empowerment). The historical popularity of technological determinist (TD) ideology, which considers humans subordinate to technology, suggests that policymakers may see users as inherently lacking agency and, therefore, may believe efforts to enhance agency are futile. This dissertation explores the consideration of user agency in SM policy by analysing the formation of Ireland’s Online Safety and Media Regulation Act of 2022 (OSMR). OSMR is one of the most far-reaching pieces of SM policy to date and represents a profound break from Ireland’s historical self-regulatory approach toward the technology industry. Further, OSMR’s key remit—to hold Irish-based companies accountable for SM harms throughout the EU— means that it will potentially influence the agency of millions of users. This project examines Irish legislators’ beliefs using a critical theory of technology (CTT) lens and through critical frame analyses of OSMR policy debates, legislator interviews, and user focus groups. Key findings included that ‘strong’ TD did not influence legislators but that they nonetheless aimed to protect rather than empower users. Further, legislators’ ambiguity concerning OSMR’s beneficiaries, as well as their frequent references to personal SM experiences, signalled a limited understanding of users’ needs. Focus group data showed that users were less likely to believe in user agency than legislators, unaware of OSMR, and wary of government SM regulation. This dissertation contributes to CTT by exploring how deliberative forums may help connect policymakers and users to achieve ‘democratisation of technology’.