Nah, it's a combination of two things:

1. Applications are granted internet access by default. It's possible to disable cellular access on a per-application basis, but not networking in general

2. Permissions are asked for at point of use with a big allow/deny dialog. This has several consequences

* it's easier for the user to understand why the application would want to e.g. access their contacts

* the user only gets the dialog if they're accessing a feature which claims a need for it, no paying a privacy/permission cost for stuff you don't do

* the more stuff an application wants access to the more scary dialogs they'll prompt, so application developers have tended to not go overboard

Also all permissions can be revoked (or granted) afterwards, aside from cellular they all live in Settings > Privacy, and inside each permission is the list of applications which asked for it, and whether they're allowed or denied access