Investing.com — President-elect Donald Trump is considering an executive order to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States, despite a legal ban, according to a report in New York Times (NYSE:). The potential executive order, which was first reported by The Washington Post, was discussed as TikTok approaches a deadline on Sunday to find a new owner or face a ban in the United States. The video-sharing app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has been viewed as a national security risk by Republicans for years, a concern shared by both parties in Congress.

If the Supreme Court upholds the law that mandates the sale of the app to a non-Chinese company, an executive order from Mr. Trump may be the only route for TikTok to continue its operations in the United States in the near term. The law requires app store operators such as Apple (NASDAQ:) and Google (NASDAQ:), as well as cloud computing providers, to stop distributing TikTok in the United States.

An executive order can instruct the government to avoid enforcing the law or postpone enforcement to get a deal done. This is a tactic used by past presidents to counter laws. However, it remains uncertain whether an executive order will withstand legal challenges or convince app stores and cloud computing companies to take actions that could expose them to significant penalties.

While there is a possibility that the app will continue to function once it has been downloaded, the law also affects internet hosting companies such as Oracle (NYSE: ) and other cloud computing providers. Not sure how this will affect video load times and app functionality.

An individual close to Mr. Trump’s team disclosed that his allies had preliminary talks about buying TikTok, but did not provide further details. President Biden, whose term ends Monday, a day after the ban begins, is also facing pressure to come up with a solution to preserve the app.

The New York Times reported late Wednesday that TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend the inauguration of Mr. Trump on Monday and was offered a seat on the dais.

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