The Department of Justice on Wednesday charged two former Twitter employees for spying on users on behalf of Saudi Arabia.

The charges allege that Ali Alzabarah and Ahmad Abouammo used their employee credentials to access information about specific Twitter users, including their email addresses, birth dates, phone numbers and internet protocol addresses. A third individual, Ahmed Almutairi, was also charged for acting as an intermediary between the Twitter employees and the Saudi government, the Justice Department said.

"We will not allow U.S. companies or U.S. technology to become tools of foreign repression in violation of U.S. law," U.S. Attorney David Anderson said in a statement.

The Washington Post previously reported the news.

Alzabarah and Almutairi are believed to be in Saudi Arabia while Abouammo was arrested in Seattle on Tuesday.