It’s like how they made yyyy-MM-dd the law in Germany for official communications. No one cared, so they changed it to make it optional when used within Germany or when there is no ambiguity a few years later :D

DIN 5008 should be required reading for anyone ;-)

I do care, though, and use ISO 8601 almost exclusively in writing. And I do know a few others. Perhaps things will change eventually.

By "no one", I meant those that were supposed to use it: Government officials ;) I personally use it as well, and so does my workplace, surprisingly.

We have been using it in Sweden as long as I can remember.

Nothing happened because the US decided to elect Reagan and the plan was effectively shelved.