Just spend the 2 seconds to change your default new window / tab page to “Blank Page” if it bothers you that much. I set that in the 2000s and they've always honored it since.
The first run after an update opens a separate tab with the bullshit in it, regardless of what the start page is set to. Now this wouldn't be a problem like back in the day where updates were rare, but nowadays they're churning out updates like crazy and use these as an opportunity to get in your way.
