what laws protect pii 
various federal and state consumer protection laws protect pii and sanction its unauthorized use for instance the federal trade commission act and the privacy act of 1974 1718the bottom linepersonally identifiable information pii is any type of data that can be used to identify someone from their name and address to their phone number passport information and social security numbers this information is frequently a target for identity thieves especially over the internet for that reason it is essential for companies and government agencies to keep their databases secure 