Regulatory Trends in Consumer Electronics: a 12-18 Month Outlook

Adherent (formerly Compliance & Risks). Regulatory Trends in Consumer Electronics

A 12-18 month outlook for regulatory trends in consumer electronics

The world of consumer electronics is constantly changing, reflected by consumer and legislative demands for more sustainable products and practices. Increasing importance is being placed on climate neutral, resource-efficient economies, resulting in increased global regulatory and legislative activity.

The added complexity of connected devices is challenging traditional concepts of product compliance, resulting in even greater regulation in the areas of extended producer responsibility, circular economy and sustainability.

Stacked bar chart showing regional data from 2019 to 2026. Asia Pacific, Europe, and USA & Canada are the largest segments, with an overall increasing trend.

(Source: C2P by Adherent)

The figure above shows a 772% increase in regulations for consumer electronics manufacturers since 2019, with 6,459 regulations in place by 2026 (and counting!)

Hot Topics

Here’s a bird’s-eye view of the regulatory topics you need to be aware of to get your consumer electronics products on the market – and keep them there.

A list of topics categorized by importance. High Importance: Circular Electronics, Digital Product Passport, Mandatory Sustainability Labelling, PFAS, RoHS, ESG Reporting, EPR. Medium Importance: Sustainable Products, Greenwashing, Sustainability Requirements for Batteries, Due Diligence in the Supply Chain, Conformity Assessment, Artificial Intelligence. Low Importance: Cyber Resilience, Recycled Content, Common Charger.

Safety in the Limelight

Never before has the need to protect our environment been more important. Regulators and legislators are quickly responding, enacting measures that are focused on minimising environmental impacts of products.

The net result is that companies are increasingly tasked with understanding their regulatory obligations and finding compliance solutions.

As noted by the EU Commission “Products use up massive amounts of materials, energy and other resources and cause significant environmental impacts throughout their lifecycle, from the extraction of raw materials, to manufacture, transport, use and end of life. Half of global greenhouse gases and 90% of biodiversity loss are caused by extracting and processing primary raw materials.”

Choropleth map of the world showing countries by volume of regulations. The United States and China are dark green, indicating maximum regulations.

(Source: C2P by Adherent)

Top Trending Regulations

Listed below are the key regulations that will be impacting your business over the next 12-18 months:

EU: Framework for Setting Ecodesign Requirements for Sustainable Products (ESPR), Regulation (EU) 2024/1781
China: RoHS Standard Amendment No. 1 on Addition of Four Phthalates to the Restricted Substances List, 2024
Colorado (USA): Right to Repair for Digital Electronic Equipment, House Bill 1121, 2024
EU: Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDDD), Directive (EU) 2024/1760
EU: Radio Equipment, Directive 2014/53/EU – Amendment – (on the making available on the market of a common charger for electronic devices) Directive (EU) 2022/2380
Argentina: Conformity Assessment Framework, Resolution No. 237, 2024
Minnesota (USA): Restrictions on PFAS in Products, Senate File 2310, 2023
Scotland (UK): Circular Economy Act, 2024
EU: Batteries and Waste Batteries, Regulation (EU) 2023/1542
Latvia: Regulations on Conformity Assessment, Placing on the Market, Installation and Use of Radio Equipment, Regulation No. 215, 2024
Uzbekistan: Technical Regulations on Restricting the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products, Resolution No. 517, 2025
Russian Federation: List of Russian Software to be Pre-installed on Communications and Computer Equipment, Order No. 2241-r, 2025