Global Scans · Standards · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Improving standards are likely to be driven more by business and technological improvement than governments in the future. The latter will be under severe pressure to cut bureaucracy, speed policy making and improve their nation's productivity performance.

• [New] The UK has an opportunity to be the first major jurisdiction integrating internationally recognized software carbon standards into connections policy. Green Software Foundation
• [New] The proliferation of first-in-class candidates, the maturation of regulatory standards, and the rapid growth of AI-driven discovery platforms have created new opportunities for collaboration that benefit patients worldwide. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] A more constructive approach would recognize that AI-enabled drug discovery is inherently transnational and that shared standards, interoperable data systems, and joint regulatory pilots could amplify benefits for patients worldwide. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] China's alignment with international regulatory standards, its participation in global harmonization initiatives, and its growing portfolio of first-approved and first-in-class drugs create opportunities for regulatory cooperation. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] The FDA launched a new pilot program allowing agency investigators to conduct one-day screening inspections at manufacturing facilities identified by AI as lower risk. JD Supra
• [New] Forecasts suggest that AI-driven personalization will power the vast majority of CTV ads by 2027, turning generic TV commercials into dynamic creatives responsive to viewer context, behaviour, and purchasing signals. Starti Blog
• [New] The Phase 3 Greenhouse Gas Standards will require 25% of new vocational vehicles, including buses, to be zero emission by model year 2032, requiring continuous adaptation of vehicle designs and production processes. Market Data Forecast
• [New] Between now and 2026, Urban Air Mobility safety standards will likely evolve from broad certification concepts into detailed operational expectations. Global Aerospace & Advanced Transportation-Intelligence
• [New] By 2026, certification, autonomy oversight, battery containment, and airspace integration rules will become more specific and less forgiving. Global Aerospace & Advanced Transportation-Intelligence
• [New] The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delayed the phase - in of its Tier 4 criteria emission standards for light - and medium-duty vehicles until model year 2029. Automotive World
• [New] The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has cautioned that AI is accelerating the scale and speed of financial crime, posing threats to national security and economic stability. Yahoo Finance
• [New] In the financial sector, banks face growing AI-driven database threats that could corrupt financial records and compromise compliance with SOX and PCI-DSS standards. eSecurity Planet
• [New] In 2026, cross-chain bridges, protocols, and standards will form the backbone of Web3 infrastructure. Distributed Ledger Technologies
• [New] The NIH will develop an AI Strategic Plan to enhance transparency in AI models, develop replication standards for AI use in research, and expedite the research, development, and translation of AI discoveries to benefit patients. National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• [New] Global AI fragmentation could lead to incompatible standards, data localization requirements, and new competitive threats. techdg.in
• [New] Germany's BaFin launches targeted AI-risk inspections Reuters reported that Germany's financial watchdog BaFin is creating a new division to conduct targeted IT inspections in response to what it called substantial AI-related cyber risks. Prompt Injection
• [New] If FDA clearance for continuous glucose monitoring arrives in the Apple Watch by late 2026 or early 2027, it could catalyse a reordering of the entire health wearables value chain - pulling payer reimbursement, physician prescribing behaviour, and enterprise health plan design into Apple's orbit. BUSINESS 2.0 NEWS
• [New] China is accelerating the R&D and formulation of 6G technical standards, with the technical research phase expected to be completed in 2027. Yahoo Finance UK
• [New] The milestone addresses growing harvest now, decrypt later threats, where adversaries collect encrypted data today to unlock with future quantum computers, and aligns with the National Institute of Standards and Technology deadline requiring cryptographic algorithm upgrades by 2030. GlobeNewswire
• [New] Quantum-vulnerable algorithms including RSA and ECDSA will be deprecated from NIST standards by 2035, with high-risk systems required to transition earlier. Andrew Agarwal
• [New] Mass adoption of GS1 Digital Links will replace legacy 1 D barcodes on consumer packaging globally by 2028, driven by retailer mandates and EU traceability rules. Kylin Machine
• [New] Modernized sharing rules could deliver increases in NGSO system capacity of 100% to 700% in a given area in the United States, because NGSO operators would be able to increase the number of satellites operating simultaneously in a given area and a given frequency band from one to as many as eight. Federal Register
• [New] Current EU CO2 fleet rules for cars and vans, allowing only battery-electric and fuel-cell vehicles to be newly registered from 2035, endanger 50,000 jobs in Germany. Global Banking & Finance Review

Last updated: 21 May 2026