YouTube is now banning channels promoting Twitch streams with no warning, as evidenced by a number of high-profile content creators and streamers who recently started complaining about the practice. While no known user with a significant online following has yet been banned permanently and all reports on the matter that emerged so far claim the company is issuing temporary suspensions, the practice itself appears to be somewhat new. In several responses to complaints posted on social media, YouTube’s support team said the video platform hasn’t changed any of its policies recently, stating that the bans in question were all likely issued due to violations of its anti-spam rules, though no official has yet agreed to comment on individual cases.
While YouTube doesn’t prohibit users from promoting other websites and services, even those competing with its own offerings, its spam policies don’t allow for videos whose sole purpose is driving people from its platform, the support team clarified. Due to that state of affairs, any video made exclusively to promote a Twitch stream or a similar channel outside of the company’s ecosystem will likely be in violation of those policies. Famous creators such as Aztrosizt, Linus Tech Tips, and Surny all found themselves on the receiving end of those strict enforcement practices in recent days, though none of the affected users were suspended for anything other than promoting Twitch streams. YouTube has traditionally been lenient with that particular anti-spam policy, with numerous industry watchers suggesting the company’s new approach to the matter is a signal of its growing rivalry with Twitch.
The YouTube Gaming platform has been competing with Twitch for years now but Amazon’s video service remains the world’s most popular online destination for game streams, despite Google’s best efforts to mount a more serious challenge for that title. None of YouTube’s recent responses to the newly reported suspensions clarified what the firm would deem acceptable in the terms of promoting Twitch channels. All of the high-profile YouTube creators that got their accounts suspended over the matter in recent days are fully operational as of Friday morning ET.