One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that controls access to personally identifiable information (PII) in a database system. During operation, the system receives a request from an application to perform a function which involves accessing information in the database system. In response to the request, the system identifies a purpose that the application has in making request to perform the function. Next, the system uses the purpose to identify a set of attributes in the database system, which are associated with the purpose. The system then determines if any of the identified attributes contain PII. If so, the system enforces access controls while accessing the identified attributes containing PII.