Sociology Professor Fuyuki Kurasawa, an expert in social media and digital culture, spoke to the CBC about Facebook’s plans to launch a dating app.

This news was surprising due to the backlash that the social media company has received in light of privacy issues, such as the  .

The timing seems like "a very odd choice in terms of addressing issues of privacy,” said Kurasawa.  However, he believes that Facebook’s decision to enter the online dating industry is strategic from a business perspective.

"Clearly, part of this is an attempt on Facebook for public relations reasons to try to turn the page to have the media cover Facebook by looking at a different aspect of the company rather than talking about privacy concerns that users are having," he said.

Kurasawa mentions that there are many key factors as to why Facebook wanted to create an online dating service, including that the dating service could drive new users to Facebook or motivate current users to spend more time on Facebook.

"This is of course about market growth," Kurasawa said.

Read the full article on the CBC website.