The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has extended an order issued July 15 to enhance investor protections against naked short selling in the securities of financial institutions to which the Federal Reserve has granted temporary access to liquidity facilities on an emergency basis.

Late Tuesday, the SEC said the extended order will be in effect until 11:59 p.m. ET on August 12, and will not be further extended.

According to the SEC, the decision to extend the order for a second 10-day period, in addition to furthering the purposes of the original order, will permit the Commission staff to collect and analyze additional data on the impact and effect of the order’s provisions.

Following expiration of the extended order, the SEC will proceed immediately to consideration of rulemaking which would become effective after public notice and comment. The purpose of the rulemaking is to provide additional protections against abusive naked short selling in the broader market, while allowing the legitimate short selling essential to efficient, highly liquid markets.

The SEC’s order requires short sellers in the securities of the designated institutions to arrange to borrow the securities at the time of sale so that the buyers will receive the stock they purchased on time. Selling short without borrowing the stock to be sold, and failing to deliver it, is called naked short selling.

“The order is designed to protect legitimate short selling in these securities, but helps prevent illegitimate naked short selling and potential ‘distort and short’ manipulation,” said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, in a release. “In addition to continuing the existing order against naked short selling, the Commission will continue exploring other remedies for the broader marketplace to further protect investors from ‘distort and short’ artists.”