There’s no question that Google certainly knows a thing or two about having a firm grip on the digital advertising industry. However, some believe that this dominance could be a cause for concern, according to Digiday.

Several advertising executives have claimed that Google has a preference for them to use DoubleClick Bid Manager for negotiation of ads, which is a service owned by the company. As part of this leverage, however, it’s holding the usage of DoubleClick Ad Exchange in the balance. The company believes that using the two together is beneficial for securing ads, as a single product through “tying.” Some believe that the company is using these as a way to satisfy terms in agencies’ buying agreements, although it’s not entirely justified, especially considering that Ad Exchange purchases aren’t recognized through Bid Manager.

Both are still leading factors in Google’s overall advertising business, but it’s the kind of pressure that certain executives aren’t too fond of feeling. In fact, some feel that it could limit competition altogether within the market, and comes across as a violation of the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust regulations. The FTC investigated the matter before in 2007, warning that “tying” could very well lead to “anti-competitive conduct.”

Google was quick to respond, with spokeswoman Andrea Faville stating that the company wasn’t aware of any given FTC inquiry. Likewise, the Trade Commission didn’t comment on the matter either, but didn’t deny an inquiry was being made.

Former Google employee David Yaffe spoke on the matter, having inside knowledge on the DMB since he worked as a product manager. He felt that both teams have functioned on their own, but Google did make it a practice to pitch both as a tied-together project. “I was really amazed by how arms’ length we were between AdX and DBM,” he explained. “When you can tie them together, a lot of efficiencies are gained. It’s a reason to use a consolidated offering. That’s something that clients believe, and it’s true.”

Meanwhile, Angelina Eng, vice president of platform solutions at Merkle, had similar thoughts. “They absolutely push a lot of advertisers to commit to that,” she said. “Because it’s so much work to collect how much money you’re spending on Google if you’re running through different sources, the intermediary agency will push for using DBM. [Google] encourages it, but they’re not forcing it,” she said.

Regarding the service, Google said in a previous statement, “Of course, we try to maximize ROI for our partners by giving them the best deal and technology assistance possible, but do not by any means require any partners to use DoubleClick Bid Manager or buy on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange.”

More details about these concerns can be found on DigiDay.