Standards Bodies

Who writes the technical standards AI laws depend on.

European standards bodies missed their April 2025 deadline for AI Act harmonized standards and now target late 2026 at the earliest. China's industry ministry aims for 50+ new national AI standards by 2026, and NIST launched an agent standards initiative in February 2026.

Slip in EU AI standards and deadlines: CEN-CENELEC harmonized standards ~20; Annex III high-risk deadline 16; Annex I high-risk deadline 12. Secondary source SLIP IN EU AI STANDARDS AND DEADLINES CEN-CENELEC harmonized standards ~20 Annex III high-risk deadline 16 Annex I high-risk deadline 12 MONTHS SECONDARY SOURCE
China target, new AI standards
50+
China target, international standards
20+
NIST agent initiative pillars
3
China drafts reviewed, Apr 2026
10

Evidence

China and NIST moved on agent standards while EU harmonized standards slipped

Developments: standards Bodies
DateCaseCountryWhat happenedSource
Oct 5, 2025GB/T 46347-2025ChinaFirst national AI risk-management maturity standardSource
Nov 2025BSI accredited for ISO/IEC 42001United KingdomFirst certifier accredited by UKASSource
Feb 17, 2026NIST AI Agent Standards InitiativeUnited StatesThree pillars: industry standards, open protocols, agent security and identitySource
Mar 2026IETF CATALIST meetingInternationalExploratory meeting on agent-to-agent and model-to-tool protocolsSource
Apr 14, 2026China AI standards subcommittee workshopChinaReviewed 10 draftsSource

Rules

Standards are voluntary until a law points to them

Key instruments: standards
RuleJurisdictionWhat it requiresStatus
ISO/IEC 42001InternationalCertifiable AI management systemPublished 2023
EU AI Act harmonized standards (CEN-CENELEC JTC 21)EUPresumption of conformity for high-risk AILate 2026 at the earliest
MIIT AI standardization guidelineChina50+ national and industry AI standards by 2026Issued 2024
GB 45438-2025 AI content labelingChinaMandatory AI content labelsIn force Sep 1, 2025
NIST CAISI AI Agent Standards InitiativeUS federalAgent security, identity and interoperabilitySince Feb 2026

Status colors: green in force, blue voluntary standard or framework, amber adopted and phasing in, gray draft or pending, red withdrawn.

Record

Page Record

Datasets
ai_governance_evidence.csv (5 rows); ai_rules.csv (245 rows)
Key sources
GB/T 46347-2025
BSI accredited for ISO/IEC 42001
NIST AI Agent Standards Initiative
IETF CATALIST meeting
China AI standards subcommittee workshop
Last verified
October 2026