At noon on January 20, 2021, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. was sworn in as the 46^th President of the United States, and he and his staff took over the business of running the country.

The tradition of a peaceful transfer of power is as old as the United States itself. But by the time most of us see this transition on January 20^th, it is mostly ceremonial. The real work of a transition begins months before, usually even before Election Day, when presidential candidates start thinking about key hires, policy goals, and legislative challenges. After the election, the Presidential Transition Act provides the president-elect’s team with government resources to lay the foundation for the new Administration’s early days in office. Long before the inauguration ceremony, the president-elect’s team also organizes meetings with community leaders, activists, and non-profits like EFF during this time, to hear about our priorities for the incoming Administration.

In anticipation of these meetings, EFF prepared a transition memo for the incoming Biden administration, outlining our recommendations for how it should act to protect everyone’s civil liberties in a digital world. While we hope to work with the new Administration on a wide range of policies that affect digital rights in the coming years, this memo focuses on the areas that need the Administration’s immediate attention. In many cases, we ask that the Biden Administration change course from the previous policies and practices.

We look forward to working with the new Biden Administration and the new Congress to implement these important ideas and safeguards.

Read EFF’s transition memo.