But perhaps the reason they have been so lax in enforcing that particular rule is because they know they are doing it themselves in their own apps, and didn't want to attract lawsuits?
If so, now that they are introducing this new functionality they might start looking more carefully at notification system abuse.
They don't seem to concerned about lawsuits, considering the advantages their own apps get on the platform.
They seem to enforce the guidelines purely based on politics (whether the publisher has friends at Apple and how important the app is to the ecosystem).
I do wish they'd be legally bound to treat everyone the same way (EU?).
If so, now that they are introducing this new functionality they might start looking more carefully at notification system abuse.