YouTube didn't directly address the inconsistencies in enforcement when both Engadget and Polygon asked about the terminations. Instead, it directed concerned people to Twitter posts maintaining that you can "absolutely" produce videos promoting Twitch, and that there's "no new enforcement." The statements are problematic, however. The company didn't outline what it would consider an acceptable promotion of Twitch (a brief mention at the end of an otherwise ordinary video, perhaps?). And when it says enforcement hasn't changed... well, there are good reasons to be skeptical. Linus Tech Tips has been promoting Twitch streams for years, and it's a large channel with millions of subscribers -- YouTube can't pretend it just discovered an obscure producer flaunting the terms of service.

The channels in question are back in action. However, the terminations are bound to raise concerns that YouTube is singling out Twitch promotions to hurt a competitor with an increasing amount of overlap. With YouTube diving deeper into gaming and Twitch encouraging non-gaming content, there's a real chance some users might drift away. Not that allegations of a crackdown are likely to help YouTube's reputation.