Which law regulates the protection of personally identifiable information (PII) in the United States?

The correct answer focuses on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which is a key piece of legislation in the United States that specifically protects the privacy and security of individuals' medical information, a type of personally identifiable information (PII). HIPAA sets national standards for the protection of health information, requiring healthcare providers and insurers to implement safeguards that ensure the confidentiality and security of health records. This law has significant implications for how sensitive health information is handled, shared, and stored, making it highly relevant to the protection of PII in the healthcare sector.

While other options relate to various aspects of data protection and security, they do not specifically address the regulation of PII in the broader sense. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European Union law that governs data protection and privacy in Europe and does not apply in the U.S. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) specifically protects the privacy of student education records but is limited in scope to educational institutions. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) focuses on the security of payment card information, which is a specific type of data and not a comprehensive law governing PII protection across all sectors like HIPAA.