.gq
 | This article needs to be updated. (July 2025) |
 | |
| 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 |
.gq is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Equatorial Guinea.
The .gq registry allows the creation of emoji domain names.
History
[edit]The .gq domain was launched in July 1997 by GETESA, the nation's prominent internet service provider.[1]
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.[2][3][4]
Following Freenom's lawsuit with Meta and its settlement in 2024,[5] the company exited the domain business on March of the same year.[6] Registry of .gq domain is currently owned by GETESA via Dominio GQ.[7]
Abuse
[edit]Due 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.[8]
References
[edit]- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "REGISTRATION OF A DOMAIN". December 11, 2014.
- ↑ "FREENOM RELAUNCHES THE NATIONAL TOP LEVEL DOMAIN OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA" (PDF). October 1, 2014.
- ↑ "freenom Press Statement" (PDF). www.freenom.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-02-28. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ↑ "Leaving the domains business, Freenom shuts down at least 12.6 million domain names". cctld.ru. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
- ↑ ".gq Domains | Equatorial Guinea Domain Registration". www.marcaria.com. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
- ↑ "Shady TLDs: .GQ Not Looking So Dapper". Symantec Security Response. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
External links
[edit]
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