It seems to have gotten imbedded as 'just the way you ask users things' in UI developer's mindsets:
Do you want to enable push notifications?
[Yes please] [Later]
How about [No]? Just add a note that I can always enable this later if I want to, but don't jerk around with this nudging making me feel I'm just postponing this choice.
It's called dark patterns as GP mentioned. They're financially motivated to improve [Yes] clicks, so they just remove [No]. It's completely Web-legal and Web-ethical.
IMO, something should have been done when A/B tests became normal(mid to late 2000s). That ship had long long sailed, but I believe that alone require independent ethics board if it is happening outside the Web. It should not be something easily handled with a blanket waiver in shrinkwrap EULA.
The inability of tech companies to accept that no means no, and not "bother me later" is a dark pattern that I've noticed more and more lately.