.gq is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Equatorial Guinea. Freenom relaunched the TLD on October 1, 2014, and domains became available for free on January 1, 2015.[1][2] Following Freenom's lawsuit with Meta and its settlement in 2024,[3] it is unclear who will take up registration of the domain, as the company announced it would be exiting the domain business.
 | |
| Introduced | 10 July 1997 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
| Status | Active |
| Registry | GETESA |
| Sponsor | GETESA |
| Intended use | Entities connected with  Equatorial Guinea |
| Actual use | Sees relatively rare use, mostly not in Equatorial Guinea. |
| Registration restrictions | Free domains available with some restrictions; paid registrations for legal ownership have no activity requirement |
| Documents | Registration Agreement (free domains) Registration Agreement (paid domains) |
| Dispute policies | UDRP (paid domains only) |
| Registry website | www |
The .gq registry allows the creation of emoji domain names.
History
editThe .gq domain was launched in July 1997 by GETESA, the nation's prominent internet service provider.[4]
In October 2014, domain company Freenom partnered with GETESA to try a business model which involved giving away .gq domain names for free. Before the public launch, there was a sunrise period to allow trademark holders to register their names. Public domain registration commenced on January 1, 2015.[5]
Abuse
editDue to the lack of cost required to obtain a .gq domain, the TLD has been prone to usage for spam, phishing and other malicious purposes. A study conducted by internet security company Symantec found that 92% of the top 50 .gq websites were being used for "shady" purposes. Out of all of the websites on a .gq domain that were surveyed by Symantec, a whole 98.94% were being used for malicious purposes.[6]
References
edit- ^ "FREENOM RELAUNCHES THE NATIONAL TOP LEVEL DOMAIN OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA" (PDF). October 1, 2014.
- ^ "REGISTRATION OF A DOMAIN". December 11, 2014.
- ^ "freenom Press Statement" (PDF). www.freenom.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-02-28. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ "IANA — .gq Domain Delegation Data". www.iana.org. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- ^ Freenom. "Freenom Relaunches The National Top Level Domain Of Equatorial Guinea". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- ^ "Shady TLDs: .GQ Not Looking So Dapper". Symantec Security Response. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
External links
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