It looks like the only thing Apple isn't doing is ACR. They still say that they track what you watch and sell that to 3rd parties though. Now that Apple is in the targeted ad business and even filling iOS with ads I suspect it's all downhill from here.
Maps, the App Store, and the Apple Podcast apps are great examples of this.
It infuriates me that Apple Podcast slips in ads for podcasts I have no interest in as suggestions. As far as I can tell, there’s no way to disable that “feature”.
You can't blame the browser for ads that websites show you. You can blame apple podcasts for showing ads featuring random podcasts that apple is promoting. Apple isn't to blame for any ads that air within the podcasts themselves tho.
I am not talking about ads within podcasts. When I am listening to an episode that I have in my library, I will get recommendations on other podcasts that I might like in the UI. Apple doesn’t give them the treatment that they are ads, but as far as I’m concerned, they are ads.