President Donald Trump’s decision to issue an executive order Monday delaying enforcement of the federal ban on TikTok has deepened a murky legal landscape in the US for the popular social media app and its technology partners.

TikTok, one of the most popular social media platforms in the United States, has a little more than three months to reach a deal divesting it of Chinese ownership before it goes dark. The app boasts roughly 170 million monthly active users across the country but faces extinction by May if it fails to sell

An executive order is an instruction from the president which has the weight of the law behind it. But Trump's order does not overturn the ban. Instead it tells the US attorney general not to enforce the law for now - something experts had expected would be his first move.