Sugarbook has reportedly changed its URL to ‘Sucrebook’ to avoid receiving a ban from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
MCMC had raised concerns about the platform carrying out a ‘marketing gimmick’ after it claimed more Malaysian women, especially university students, are signing up.
However, ‘Sucrebook’ is now inaccessible with an error message indicating that the resource might have been removed. The original Sugarbook URL is also still banned, with a notification stating that the website violates national laws.
A spokesperson stated that Sugarbook is only affected in Malaysia and the team is continuing to move forward with its expansion plans.
MCMC have is concerned that increased usage of the platform would make romance scams of all kinds more prevalent.
Elizabeth Lee, the CEO of Sunway University, issued a statement after a Sugarbook infographic claimed it was the most popular sugar dating university in the country.
She explained: “[This is a] totally inaccurate reflection of our nation’s students and other respectable institutions of higher education undermines our collective efforts in nurturing good citizens and developing a progressive nation.
“We are truly disappointed that an irresponsible company is willing to tarnish the good and sincere work of so many young minds for their own profit and gain in these challenging times. We condemn their attempts to encourage youth to partake in their immorality, normalise this notion and disregard the mental health impact this causes.”
New Google regulations means sugar dating platform are now banned from acquiring advertising space because they could be interpreted as “promoting a sexual act in exchange for compensation”.
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