At 101domain, our philosophy is simple: Establish. Grow. Protect. As your organization expands its digital footprint, the “doors and windows” of your digital estate increase, creating more entry points for cybercriminals and brand impersonators.
To help you manage this complexity, we are pleased to announce a massive upgrade to our GlobalBlock solution. Starting April 1, the Brand Safety Alliance (BSA) is adding dozens of new domains, including two titans of industry: China (.cn) and Germany (.de).
Why .cn and .dn are critical for global brand protection.
Securing these two country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) is a foundational requirement for a sophisticated brand protection strategy. Combined, these two zones account for nearly 37 million active domains—representing a massive footprint where your intellectual property could be vulnerable to impersonation. To put their scale into perspective, .cn and .de rank as the largest domain zones in the world, trailing only behind .com.
- Overcoming challenges in China (.cn): China’s .cn is a powerhouse with 20 million registrations1, but it is notoriously complex for international brands to navigate due to regulatory red tape and a high volume of cybersquatting. Historically, resolving trademark disputes has been difficult and costly.
- The European standard (.de): With over 17.6 million active registrations2, .de is Europe’s largest ccTLD. Its registry DENIC eG, is a global standard-setter in the domain industry. Their participation in GlobalBlock is a testament to the solution’s credibility and paves the way for other major European and global registries to follow suit.
By securing .cn and .de in GlobalBlock, your organization can proactively bypass these hurdles and effortlessly protect your intellectual property in the world’s most critical markets. With GlobalBlock, we replace manual, time-consuming enforcement with a unified, proactive shield.
The evolution of GlobalBlock protection
When GlobalBlock launched, it promised to unify multiple domain registries into a single blocking solution to meet the evolving threat landscape. That promise is being realized through steady, significant growth:
| YEAR | MILESTONE | TOTAL DOMAINS |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | GlobalBlock officially launched (January) | 566 |
| 2025 | Consistent additions expanded coverage | 710 |
| 2026 | Addition of .de, .cn, .中国, 38 second-level subzones, and more (April 1) | 780 |
“Specialized Domains” additions (April 1)
It is important to understand that .cn and .de are categorized as Specialized Domains. To comply with DENIC eG and CNNIC’s local policies, these zones use alternative protection methods rather than standard direct blocking.
Our team is prepared to guide you through the nuances of these specialized protections, including:
- Registry-specific protection: While providing robust security, these domains utilize registration-based methods adapted to local registry requirements.
- Maintenance of existing assets: “Priority AutoCatch” is unavailable in Specialized Domains. The BSA will use its best endeavors to monitor and pursue these domains on an ongoing basis. This means it is critical that you retain any existing registrations matching your GlobalBlock order. Our team can help you audit your portfolio to ensure no vital assets lapse.
- Monitoring & whitelisting: A standard landing page will be published on specialized domains to confirm coverage. We strongly advise engaging with your brand monitoring providers to whitelist these pages to prevent false-positive alerts.
- Data publication (RDDS and WHOIS): Display information may reflect the specific data publication policies of local registries, which may differ from standard GlobalBlock protocols.
Standard domain additions (April 1)
In addition to the titans of .cn and .de, this rollout includes a mix of popular generic, country-code, and emerging Web3 domains operating under standard GlobalBlock protocols:
- .blog: A highly sought-after generic domain for content and authority.
- .kz & subzones: The ccTLD for Kazakhstan, including 7 subzones and Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs).
- Unstoppable Domains: 20 new Web3/blockchain domains to future-proof your brand in the decentralized web.
Planning your Brand Protection strategy
As more domains are added to the GlobalBlock portfolio, pricing for new orders will increase. However, existing GlobalBlock clients will be protected from these increases until their next renewal.
If you have questions regarding these new additions, transitioning from DPML to GlobalBlock, or ensuring your current strategy is fully optimized for global growth, our account executives are ready to provide a personalized assessment.
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