WA Dept. of Licensing responds to Spanish accent ‘glitch’ shown in viral TikTok

The Washington Department of Licensing recently corrected a technical issue that caused its automated phone system to respond to Spanish inquiries in English with a Spanish accent.

The issue was brought to public attention after a Bainbridge Island resident documented the experience in a social media video that went viral.

The Department of Licensing attributed the error to a configuration change made during an expansion of its self-service options.

According to the agency, the system’s new technology mistakenly provided some responses in English rather than the caller’s preferred language.

Bainbridge Island resident Maya Edwards posted a video of the experience on TikTok that received nearly 2 million views.

In the video, Edwards called the department and asked for directions in Spanish.

She was greeted by an automated voice that spoke in English with a strong Spanish accent.

Edwards noted that while the instructions remained in English, the numbers provided by the system were in Spanish.

“It was both hilarious and incredibly horrific because it’s like something straight out of a sitcom,” Edwards said.

She also expressed concern about how the accented voice might be perceived by the Spanish-speaking community.

“It might be considered insulting to many. I think it’s insulting. I think it’s insulting on so many levels to have an accented voice coming back, like you’re making fun of an entire demographic of people,” Edwards said.

The Department of Licensing addressed the incident in an official statement, explaining that the problem arose during an effort to increase its available resources.

“An unfortunate result of the expansion of services is that the DOL has encountered problems with the self-service option,” the agency said. “Specifically, some responses were provided in English, and not in the caller’s preferred language. »

The agency further explained that the system uses newer technology and that the specific error was related to internal adjustments.

“Although the cause of the issue is still being evaluated, it appears that this technical issue was the result of a configuration change made by the DOL,” the department said.

The Department of Licensing has since implemented a fix for the phone system and subsequent calls to the agency confirm that the Spanish language options are now working properly.

Edwards noted the state’s rapid response.

“I’m glad they resolved the issue pretty quickly,” Edwards said.