RUSH: I don’t know whether I ought to get into this or not because so many people misunderstand things. Well, Governor Newsom here has announced that they’re going to implement a program that Apple has introduced into its latest operating system or maybe a couple operating systems ago. It’s a program that does contact tracing, and states have to initiate the program for it to work, and it is a means of identifying people that have the virus, and steps are taken, therefore, after that.

If you go to your phone, if you have an iPhone, let me show you where it is. It is in settings, and it’s called “exposure notifications.” And then under “exposure notifications,” if you tap on “turn on exposure notifications,” you are then given an explanation of what it is. Your phone can tell you if you may have been exposed to COVID-19. Your public health authorities guidelines determine if an exposure is significant enough to notify you and provide next steps.

Then there’s a little phrase you click on, “How exposure notifications work,” and then there’s a “continue” button. You tap on the “continue” button and you’re asked to select your country or region. So for America you scroll all the way to the bottom of this thing for United States. So I’m here in Florida. I’m gonna check this. I’m gonna see if they’ve turned this on in Florida. They haven’t yet. I check it here regularly. United States. Now you select your state.

So I gotta come down here, find Florida. There it is. May take a few — “Exposure notifications are not currently available.” Well, Gavin Newsom just announced that they are in California. If you may have been exposed to COVID-19, your phone will tell you based on contact tracing, people that you encounter and run into. You have all the power in the world here. You have the ability to turn this on or not. The state can turn it on and all that, but until you do they can’t do anything to you. And people misunderstand this. And that’s why exposure notifications are not currently available.

Well, actually they are. Where I live they have already released an app that if you turn it on it will do the same thing. It’s presented as a service. I have not turned it on, and I get notifications repeatedly reminding me to do it. But I haven’t. I downloaded did it. That’s how they know my phone has it. They don’t know who I am. They just know that I’ve got it.

So I can tell you, I’ve downloaded the ability — the county level that’s done it here. Exposure notifications are not currently available, it says on my phone. Well they certainly are. I just haven’t turned it on. Here’s Gavin Newsom, a couple sound bites explaining this today in Sacramento. He spoke about California’s handling of the pandemic and said this.

NEWSOM: Two of California’s best-known headquartered technology companies, Google and Apple, have joined together in an effort to provide for exposure notification, not contact tracing, but exposure notification. The California Notify app we’re putting out is about an opt-in opportunity for individuals to participate in a notification protocol, an opt-in. Not an opt-out. Privacy protected. I remind you, it’s 100% private, 100% secure, 100% voluntary.

RUSH: This is what I said, you have to opt-in. You have to turn it on. You have to willingly participate. Now, a lot of people, when I’ve told them this, “That’s not true, Rush. You know they’re gonna be able to spy you on whether you turn it on or not.” Okay. Believe what you want. I’m not even gonna spend any more time. I’m just telling you, if you don’t turn it on, they can’t find you. “You wait, Rush. They’ll find you no matter what. That’s who they are.” Okay. Here’s the next Gavin Newsom sound bite. He added this.

NEWSOM: Here’s how it works. So let’s assume you are Alice and/or Bob. You’re chatting. You’re very close. You’re not socially distanced, you’re not physically distanced, you’re chatting for a number of minutes. And your cell phones, because you have opted in to this technology, you are automatically, because of Bluetooth, exchanging what we refer to in technological terms as anonymous keys. A few days later you determine — well, you discover, if you’re Alice, that you have tested positive for COVID. And you receive a code via text from the California Department of Public health for the California Notify.

RUSH: Now, he’s making the point here that if you’re Alice and Bob, you run around and you do a lot of chatting close enough that you might, because of Bluetooth, be detected with the virus, and it would be recorded, your phone would inform authorities because that’s the purpose of the app, the purpose of the program.

And a few days later, if you opt in, you’ll discover that you tested positive for COVID, and you receive a code via text from the California Department of Health for the California Notify and so forth. But all of this is still under your control. You have to opt-in. You have to turn it on. Now, just don’t do that, and you don’t have to worry about any of this, okay?