Doesn't the premise of the article disprove this statement? There's been no regulatory movement forcing the "Symbian" granular permission approach.
I'd argue the pseudo-regulated app stores were a bigger source of the problem, not the "libertarian free-for-all". That is, having an app store with Apple or Google's name on it is what encouraged users to let their guard down and trust all the apps on it. If you had to download the "battery charger" app from Bob's Phone Tools' site instead of the Google Play store, you'd maybe be a little more skeptical of that permissions list.